Gaming system, gaming device and method providing a first game and a plurality second wagering games each associated with a separate activatable component of the first game

ABSTRACT

A gaming system having a first skill, partial skill, or pseudo skill based game having a plurality of individually activatable designated components and a plurality of second chance based games each respectively associated with a different one of the individually activatable components of the skill based game. When each designated component of the first game is activated through one or player inputs, a corresponding chance based game associated with that designated component is activated. Each chance based game randomly determines whether the player wins an award. In one embodiment, the likelihood of activating each designated component is different and the chance based game associated with each different designated component is different.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application is a continuation of, and claims priority to and thebenefit of, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/643,895, filed on Mar.10, 2015, which is a continuation of, and claims priority to and thebenefit of, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/779,065, filed on Feb.27, 2013 and which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,992,297 on Mar. 31, 2015,which is a continuation of, and claims priority to and the benefit of,U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/768,350, filed on Apr. 27, 2010 andwhich issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,398,475 on Mar. 19, 2013, the entirecontents of each of which are incorporated herein by reference.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains or maycontain material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyrightowner has no objection to the photocopy reproduction by anyone of thepatent document or the patent disclosure in exactly the form it appearsin the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwisereserves all copyright rights whatsoever.

BACKGROUND

Primary wagering games of gaming machines in most jurisdictions aregames of luck, not games of skill. For instance, in conventional slotgaming machines, the player must make a wager on the slot game to beginthe slot game, and the slot gaming machine randomly determines theoutcome for the slot game. The outcome may be a winning outcome or alosing outcome. The outcome determines whether the player obtains anaward according to the predetermined paytable of the slot gamingmachine. Most conventional slot gaming machines have an average expectedpayback percentage set between 80 and 99 percent.

One reason slot gaming machines are popular is because an amateur,novice or inexperienced player can play most slot games and perform aswell as a seasoned or experienced slot game player (due to the randomdeterminations of the outcomes). However, this same reason makes suchslot gaming machines unpopular for certain people. In the last severaldecades, many people have grown accustomed to and comfortable withplaying arcade skill games, home video skill games, computer skillgames, casual games, handheld device skill games, and data network(e.g., Internet) skill games. Certain of these people do not want toplay conventional slot gaming machines which have less interaction andoften minimize requiring the player to use the player's skills. There isa continuing and growing need to provide these people wagering gamingmachines which require a greater amount of interaction and which requirethe player to use a greater amount of the player's skills.

One problem with known wagering gaming machines which require the playerto use the player's skills is that many so called skill games can bemastered by players having a high level of skill, substantial practiceor both. To combat the mastering of such games and to make the economicswork, the skill game may need to be made relatively difficult. This highdifficulty level may be too great for inexperienced or average playersto have a sufficient level of success and enjoyment at such gamingmachines. It is thus difficult to provide such gaming machines where theaverage expected payback percentage for all players can be set to thedesired percentage (e.g., between 80 and 99 percent).

Accordingly, a need exists for gaming machines which require a greateramount of interaction, which require the player to use the player'sskills, and where the average expected payback percentage for allplayers can be set to the desired percentage (e.g., between 80 and 99percent).

SUMMARY

Various embodiments of the present disclosure relate to gaming systems,gaming devices, and methods which provide a first skillbased game havinga plurality of designated individually activatable components, and aplurality of second or chance based games each respectively associatedwith a different one of the individually activatable components of thefirst or skill based game. For each individually activatable componentof the skill based game, when that individually activatable component isactivated through or as a result of one or more player inputs, thechance based game associated with that individually activatablecomponent is triggered. The chance based game at least in part randomlydetermines an outcome to display to the player, and any award associatedwith the displayed outcome. In certain embodiments, the gaming systems,gaming devices, and methods provide one or more associated additionalindividually activatable components in the skill based game which areselectively activated and one or more additional chance based gameswhich are selectively triggered as further discussed below.

In operation of certain embodiments, the gaming system requires theplayer to make an initial wager amount which will be used for the playof the second or chance based games. The gaming system then enables theplayer to play the skill based game. As the player plays the skill basedgame, the player's inputs in the skill based game activate theindividually activatable components of the skill based game. Eachactivation of the activatable components of the skill based gamerespectively causes the chance based game associated with that componentto be triggered. Each triggered chance based game results in a wagerbeing made, a randomly determined outcome displayed to the player, and adetermination being made based on at least the wager and the outcome.The gaming system provides the player any award associated with eachdisplayed randomly determined outcome. The awards are based on thedisplayed outcome and the portion of the initial wager amount associatedwith that activation or play of the chance based game.

In certain embodiments, the gaming system enables a player to make theinitial wager amount in exchange for a designated amount of time duringwhich the player can play the skill based game. In one such embodiment,the gaming system is configured to determine an effective wager for eachactivation of each of the plays of each of the chance based games as aportion of the initial wager placed, depending upon time as it relatesto the pending gaming session. In certain embodiments, the gaming systemdetermines the effective wager as a percentage of the initial wagerbased on the time which elapsed between designated triggeringconditions, such as triggering of each of the individually activatablecomponents.

In various embodiments, the gaming system enables a player to enable oneor more bonus individually activatable components upon reaching acertain predefined condition. In one such embodiment, a bonusindividually activatable component is enabled (or “unlocked”) upon theplayer reaching a certain point total. In another such embodiment, thebonus individually activatable component is enabled upon the activationof one or more different individually activatable components.

Additional features and advantages are described in, and will beapparent from, the following Detailed Description and the figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a front diagrammatic perspective view of one embodiment of agaming system disclosed herein.

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of another embodiment of the gamingsystem of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3A is a top diagrammatic view of the lower housing of oneembodiment of a gaming system disclosed herein.

FIG. 3B is a front diagrammatic view of the upper housing the embodimentof the gaming system of FIG. 3A.

FIG. 4A is a top diagrammatic view of the lower housing of theembodiment of the gaming system of FIG. 3A at a later time in an examplegaming session.

FIG. 4B is a front diagrammatic view of the upper housing of theembodiment of the gaming system of FIG. 3A corresponding to thesubsequent time of the example gaming session illustrated in FIG. 4A.

FIG. 5A is a top diagrammatic view of the lower housing of theembodiment of the gaming system of FIG. 3A at a subsequent time in theexample gaming session.

FIG. 5B is a front diagrammatic view of the upper housing of theembodiment of the gaming system of FIG. 3A corresponding to thesubsequent time of the example gaming session illustrated in FIG. 5A.

FIG. 5C is an example data table maintained by one embodiment of thegaming system of FIGS. 3A to 5B.

FIG. 5D is an example timeline of certain information maintained by oneembodiment of the gaming system of FIGS. 3A to 5B.

FIG. 6A is a top diagrammatic view of the lower housing of theembodiment of the gaming system of FIG. 3A at a subsequent time in theexample gaming session.

FIG. 6B is a front diagrammatic view of the upper housing of theembodiment of the gaming system of FIG. 3A corresponding to thesubsequent time of the example gaming session illustrated in FIG. 6A.

FIG. 7A is a top diagrammatic view of the lower housing of theembodiment of the gaming system of FIG. 3A at a subsequent time in theexample gaming session.

FIG. 7B is a front diagrammatic view of the upper housing of theembodiment of a gaming system of FIG. 3A corresponding to the subsequenttime of the example gaming session illustrated in FIG. 7A.

FIG. 8A is a top diagrammatic view of the lower housing of anotherembodiment of the gaming system disclosed herein including a pinballgame used in conjunction with different types of chance based games.

FIG. 8B is a front diagrammatic view of the upper housing of theembodiment of the gaming system of FIG. 8A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the drawings, and in particular to FIG. 1, one exampleembodiment of the gaming system or gaming device of the presentdisclosure is diagrammatically illustrated. This example gaming system10 includes a cabinet 12 having a first or lower housing 14 and a secondor upper housing 16 suitably attached to the first or lower housing 14.In a different example embodiment, the gaming system is housed in analternative cabinet, as illustrated in FIG. 2. The lower housing 14supports a pinball game display device 15, which includes a playfield18, a plurality of individually activatable components such as bumpers20, 22, and 24, a plurality of non-activatable components such as rails30, 32, and 34, a plurality of flippers 36, 38, and 40 and a pluralityof player input devices such as player flipper buttons 42 and 44 whichenable the player to respectively control the flippers and button orlever 46 which activates a ball 41 to start a play of a game.

The lower housing 14, as more specifically illustrated in FIG. 3A,includes an example pinball playfield 18, which includes or displays aplurality of individually activatable components, including individuallyactivatable bumpers 20, 22, and 24. Each of the individually activatablecomponents are associated with a different chance-based game such as thechance based games 50, 52, and 54 shown in further detail in FIG. 3B.The individually activatable bumpers and other individually activatablecomponents are activated when struck or contacted by the ball 41 as aresult of player inputs. As illustrated in FIG. 3A, each of theindividually activatable components 20, 22 and 24 in the skill basedpinball game are associated with a separate one of a plurality ofdifferent chance based slot games indicated by the marking displayed onthe respective individually activatable bumper. When the individuallyactivatable bumper is activated, the respective associated chance basedgame displayed on the upper cabinet 16 is triggered, as furtherdiscussed below. It should be appreciated that the chance based gamesare all preferably different games as further discussed below, but thattwo or more of the chance games may be the same games or the same typesof games, or they can appear to the player to be the same game.

In various embodiments, each individually activatable component must beactivated a designated number of times to trigger its associated chancebased game. In alternative embodiments, one or more chance based gamesare triggered by the activation of a designated one of the individuallyactivatable component a designated number of times. It should beappreciated that the number of player inputs does not necessarilycorrelate and in various embodiments will typically not correlate to thenumber of activations of individually activatable components. Forexample, the player inputs control the flippers 36, 38 and 40, and oncethe ball 41 is set in motion, a plurality of activations could occurwith only one input by the player. In the illustrated embodimentdiscussed in detail below, the chance based games only require oneactivation of the associated individually activatable component to betriggered.

In addition to the individually activatable components 20, 22, and 24,various embodiments of the gaming system also includes a plurality ofnon-activatable components, such as the rails 30, 32, and 34.Non-activatable rails 30, 32 and 34 are unaffected by contact from theball 41. It should be appreciated that one or more of the rails andflippers could be activatable components. In one embodiment, the railsand flippers in a pinball playfield are activatable componentsassociated with a chance based game. In another embodiment, the railsand flippers are activatable components which are not associated with achance based game, but are worth a certain point total when activated asfurther discussed below.

In various embodiments, the lower housing 14 also includes a pluralityof individually activatable components which are each only activatableupon the occurrence of a predetermined condition. In one such exampleembodiment, the pinball playfield 18 includes an individuallyactivatable bonus bumper, which is illuminated and enabled foractivation when the player's score reaches a certain point threshold.For example, in FIG. 3A, bumper 25 is an individually activatable bonusbumper which is enabled for activation when the player's score reaches5,000 points. The score at the time of the gaming system illustrated inFIG. 3A is less than 5,000 points, and therefore individuallyactivatable bonus bumper 25 can not be activated. When the predeterminedcondition has been met, and the bonus individually activatable componentbecomes activatable, the player can cause the component to becomeactivated, and the gaming system is configured to provide a bonus eventupon a predetermined number of activations, as further discussed below.

It should be appreciated that, the individually activatable componentsmay also be associated with a certain point total, in addition to beingassociated with a chance-based game. Similar to traditional pinballgames, when activated, the player receives the points associated witheach of these individually activatable bumpers. In one embodiment,various individually activatable components are associated with acertain point total and are not associated with a chance-based game. Inone embodiment, this point value is separate from and in addition to anyactivation or interaction with the respective chance based slot games.

Referring now more specifically to the example upper housing illustratedin FIG. 3B, each of the example chance based slot games represented bythe markings displayed on the individually activatable bumpers 20, 22,and 24 are respectively displayed to the player as three separate chancebased games 50, 52 and 54 in the upper housing 16. In this example, theindividually activatable bumper 20 is associated with the chance basedDOUBLE DIAMOND® slot game 50 displayed in the upper housing 16 ofcabinet 12. DOUBLE DIAMOND® is also a registered trademark of IGT. Theindividually activatable bumper 22 is associated with the chance basedTRIPLE LUCKY 7'S® slot game 52 displayed in the upper housing 16 ofcabinet 12. TRIPLE LUCKY 7'S® is a registered trademark of IGT. Theindividually activatable bumper 24 is associated with the chance basedRED WHITE & BLUE® slot game 54 displayed in the upper housing 16 ofcabinet 12. RED WHITE & BLUE® is also a registered trademark of IGT.These are very popular slot games and it should be appreciated that thepresent disclosure enables the player to play multiple popular slotgames at the same time. It should also be appreciated that the chancebased games could be any such slot game or any alternative chance basedgame, as further discussed below.

More specifically, each of the chance based slot games 50, 52, and 54displayed in the upper housing 16 have a plurality of reels: 50 a, 50 band 50 c; 52 a, 52 b and 52 c; and 54 a, 54 b and 54 c, respectively.Each set of reels has a plurality of different symbols, which correspondwith the associated slot game. For example, the chance based slot game50 displayed is the DOUBLE DIAMOND® game, and the three reels 50 a, 50 band 50 c each display a plurality of different symbols which correspondto the DOUBLE DIAMOND® slot game. Similarly, the chance based slot game52 displayed is the TRIPLE LUCKY 7'S® game, and the three reels 52 a, 52b and 52 c each display a plurality of different symbols whichcorrespond to the TRIPLE LUCKY 7'S® slot game. The chance based slotgame 54 displayed on the right of the upper cabinet 16 is the RED WHITE& BLUE® game, and the three reels 54 a, 54 b and 54 c each display aplurality of different symbols which correspond to the RED WHITE & BLUE®slot game. It should be appreciated that while the skill based pinballgame and chance based slot games of this example embodiment are usedthroughout this application, the present disclosure is not limited tothis pinball game or these slot games, and that other suitable firstgames and these or other suitable second games may be employed inaccordance with the present disclosure as further discussed below.

It should be appreciated that each of the chance based games has or isassociated with a designated return to player (RTP), which correspondsto the average amount of return the player will receive over a largesample size of wagers. For example, the RED, WHITE & BLUE slot game hasa RTP of $0.95 on the dollar, or 95%. The TRIPLE LUCKY 7'S slot game hasa RTP of 90%, and the DOUBLE DIAMOND slot game has a RTP of 85%. In thisembodiment, the DOUBLE DIAMOND slot game has the lowest AEP because ithas the easiest individually activatable component to activate, theTRIPLE LUCKY 7'S slot game has a higher RTP because it has a slightlyharder individually activatable component to activate, and the RED,WHITE & BLUE slot game has the highest RTP because it is the hardest ofthe three individually activatable components to activate. In thisembodiment, the lowest RTP is associated with the individuallyactivatable bumper which is the easiest to activate.

In addition to the display of the chance based slot games 50, 52, and54, the upper housing 16 of the cabinet 12 includes several areas todisplay to the player different information about the gaming session,including a TOTAL WAGER display 60 indicating the amount of creditscorresponding to the total wager placed at the beginning of thedesignated gaming session, a clock or time remaining display 62indicating the time remaining in the designated gaming session, a SCOREmeter display 66 indicating the total cumulative points scored duringthe designated gaming session, and a TOTAL AWARD display 68 indicatingthe total amount of credits won during the designated gaming session.The upper housing 16 of the cabinet 12 also includes a WAGER REMAININGdisplay 100, which indicates how much of the total initial wager remainsin the gaming session. In this embodiment, the upper housing 16 alsoincludes a message display area in which the gaming system displaysinstructions, messages or other information to the player.

It should be appreciated, the chance based games within one embodimenthave different volatilities or different levels of volatility. Morevolatile chance based games provide higher and lower potential awards tothe player. As discussed above, a chance based game with a RTP of 85%will on average return to the player 85% of his or her total wagers onaverage, including several non-winning outcomes (which include payoutsthat are less than 85% of the player's wager) and several winningoutcomes (which include payouts that are more than 85% of the player'swager). For example, one such game with higher volatility could have amaximum award of $1,000, whereas a lower volatility game could have amaximum award of $500, even though the RTP is 85% for both the high andlow volatility games.

If a chance based game has high volatility, the payouts on averageshould still be approximately the RTP, but the gaming session willtypically have more non-winning or low award winning outcomes than a lowvolatility game, and the gaming session will also have higher payingwinning results that than those in a low volatility game. The higherawards from the winning results in a volatile chance based game balanceout the higher number of non-winning results. On average, a highvolatility chance based game results in the same payback as a lowvolatility chance based game, but the wins will be greater and thenon-wins will be more numerous in the highly volatile game.

High volatility chance based games are generally riskier for the playerthan low volatility games if the gaming session is shorter. For example,if a player starts a gaming session at a high volatility game, thatplayer could win a high jackpot award on the first pull. Or, that playercould also start the gaming session with a streak of ten non-winningpulls in a row. If a player instead started a gaming session at a lowvolatility game (with the same RTP as the high volatility game, but alower jackpot award amount), and wins the jackpot on the first pull, itwill result in a lower award than the high volatility game. It is alsoless likely, however, that the player would experience the same ten-pullstreak of non-winning plays as in the high volatility game.

Thus it should be appreciated that in various embodiments of the presentdisclosure, the chance based games each have the same RTP but differentvolatilities. In other embodiments, the chance based games each have adifferent RTP but the same volatilities. In other embodiments, thechance based games each have the same RTP and the same volatiles.

It should be appreciated that the lower housing 14 and the upper housing16 are configured to co-act or work together, and when the player inputcauses the ball 41 to contact or activate one of the individuallyactivatable bumpers 20, 22, or 24 in the lower housing 14 the designatednumber of times for that bumper, the gaming system is configured totrigger the chance based slot game associated with the bumper activatedin the upper housing 16. For example, when the player, using theflippers 36, 38, and 40, causes the ball 41 to strike and activatebumper 22, the corresponding chance based TRIPLE LUCKY 7'S® slot game isactivated. When the chance based slot game is activated, the reelsassociated with that particular chance based slot game spin and theTRIPLE LUCKY 7'S® game operates as a known slot machine game, as furtherdiscussed below. After the reels stop spinning, the symbols on each ofthe reels form a combination of symbols which, if appropriately arrangedalong one or more paylines of the slot game, results in a winningarrangement according to an associated paytable. The gaming systemdetermines an award to provide to the player for winning arrangementsbased upon the associated paytable and the magnitude of the wager.

In various embodiments of the present disclosure, the magnitude andplacement of each wager is determined by a suitable time based wageringsystem. The time based wagering system enables a player to place a totalwager for a gaming session which occurs over a designated period oftime. More specifically, in one such time based wagering embodiment, forthe designated gaming session, each individually activatable componentis activated upon the occurrence of an activating condition. In theillustrated example embodiment of FIG. 3A, the activating conditionoccurs when the ball 41 contacts or interacts with one of theindividually activatable bumpers as a result of the player's inputmanipulating the ball 41 with flippers 36, 38, and 40 through inputcontrols 42 and 44. Upon the occurrence of a designated number ofactivating conditions, the gaming system is configured to execute awagering event according to certain parameters associated with theindividually activatable component activated and the timing of theactivating condition within the designated gaming session. For eachdifferent wagering event in a designated gaming session, upon anoccurrence of an activating condition, the gaming system determines aportion of the total initial wager for an effective wager.

In various embodiments, the effective wager amount is determined atleast in part by time. In certain embodiments, the effective wageramount is determined by the time elapsed since the occurrence of theimmediately previous activating condition. For example, if ten secondshave elapsed out of a sixty second long designated gaming session, theeffective wager of one embodiment is 10/60ths or one sixth of the totalinitial wager placed at the start of the designated gaming session.Further, if in the same embodiment a second activating condition occursat fifteen seconds, the effective wager associated with the secondactivating condition is based upon the difference between the timeelapsed at the time of the second activating condition and the timeelapsed at the time of the first activating condition (i.e., fiveseconds). In such an embodiment, the effective wager is one twelfth ofthe total initial wager (i.e., five seconds divided by sixty secondsequals one twelfth). In these described examples, the effective wagerassociated with each wagering event bears a linear relationship with thetime elapsed in the designated gaming session and the time elapsed sincean activating condition. However, it should be appreciated that invarious embodiments, the effective wager does not bear a linearrelationship with the time elapsed in the designated gaming session orthe time elapsed since the previous activating condition in thedesignated gaming session.

Referring now in more detail to the FIGS. 3A to 7B, one specific exampleembodiment of the skill based pinball game of the present disclosure isillustrated. As described above, FIG. 3A illustrates the lower portion14 of the pinball cabinet 12, and FIG. 3B illustrates the upper portion16 of the pinball cabinet 12.

To start the gaming session in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the player places aninitial wager of $10.00 (or 1,000 credits) as displayed 60 by the upperhousing 16. As discussed above, this initial $10.00 wager 60 is a timebased game wager pays for 3:00 (three) minutes as indicated by numeral62 of game play time for the player to play the pinball game. Followingthe placement of the initial wager, the gaming system enables the playerto begin to play the skill based game according to the traditionalpinball rules and methods.

First, the player activates button or lever 43 which is configured tolaunch a ball 41 into the pinball playfield 18 and begin the play of thegame. When the ball 41 is launched and the game is started, the gamingsystem is configured to start the three-minute clock decrementing towardzero. When this clock reaches zero, the gaming session is over.

When the ball enters the pinball playfield, the player uses moveableflippers 36, 38, and 40 to manipulate the ball 41 and direct it towardthe individually activatable bumpers. The moveable flippers 36, 38 and40 are controllable by player flipper buttons 42 and 44. As withtraditional pinball games, one of the player's primary objectives is toprevent the ball from rolling past the flippers 36, 38 and into the well39. Also similar to traditional pinball games, the other primaryobjective of the player, apart from keeping the ball in play, is to hitthe individually activatable bumpers to score points. In FIG. 3A, theplayer aims to hit the plurality of differently sized individuallyactivatable bumpers with the ball to both score points and to activateany associated chance based slot games.

It should be appreciated that the example below has been described witha relatively low number of activations for illustrative purposes. Inmost plays, due to the chaotic nature and fast pace of a pinball game,there are likely to be many more activations of the bumpers clusteredmuch closer together than in the example below.

Referring now to FIGS. 4A and 4B, the player has now been playing thegame for nine seconds, as indicated by the decremented TIME REMAININGdisplay 62 on the upper housing 16 of the cabinet 12 illustrated in FIG.4B, which reads “2:51”. As illustrated in FIG. 4A, the ball 41 has juststruck the individually activatable bumper 20 associated with the chancebased game DOUBLE DIAMOND® 50. This activating condition triggers theDOUBLE DIAMOND® 50 chance based slot game displayed in FIG. 4B. As aresult of this activating condition, the gaming system is configured tospin reels 50 a, 50 b and 50 c. The resulting combination of symbols onreels 50 a, 50 b and 50 c is BAR-BAR-BAR respectively. According to apaytable associated with the DOUBLE DIAMOND® chance based slot game,this result is a winning combination which pays ten credits per unitwagered.

As discussed above, the magnitude of the wager is determined by theamount of time that has elapsed since the beginning of the designatedgaming session or the occurrence of the immediately previous activatingcondition. In this embodiment, the activation of the DOUBLE DIAMOND®game is the first of the gaming session, and nine seconds have elapsed.Therefore, the magnitude of the wager placed on the activation of theDOUBLE DIAMOND® game in FIG. 4B is a proportional amount of the totalwager based upon the time elapsed. Nine seconds have gone by out of atotal of 180 seconds in the gaming session, which calculates to 5% ofthe total gaming session time elapsed. The magnitude of the wager is 5%of the total wager of $10.00 (or 1000 units), which equals a 50¢ wager(or 50 units). The gaming system determined that, for the resultobtained in the DOUBLE DIAMOND® game, the pay out amount is ten creditsper unit wagered. The equivalent of fifty units were wagered based uponthe time gaming procedure described, and therefore the total creditsawarded equal 500 credits, as displayed in the CREDITS field 50 dassociated with the DOUBLE DIAMOND® portion 50 of the upper housing 16.

The TRIPLE LUCKY 7'S® chance based game 52 and RED WHITE & BLUE® chancebased game 54 were not activated because the player did not activate theindividually activatable bumpers associated with either of the chancebased games. Therefore, the CREDITS fields 52 d and 54 d both display 0credits awarded by each of the TRIPLE LUCKY 7'S® 52 and RED WHITE &BLUE® 54 games respectively. The score of the game is determined by allof the individually activatable bumpers which were activated by the ball41, whether associated with a chance based game or not. Shown in FIG.4A, the ball 41 has hit not only the DOUBLE DIAMOND® bumper, but alsotwo other individually activatable bumpers 100 and 102. These twobumpers are non-associated individually activatable bumpers, and onlyresult in the accumulation of points to the player's overall score, andnot any activation of a chance based game in this example embodiment. Inthis embodiment, each non-associated individually activatable bumper isworth ten points. It should be appreciated that different individuallyactivatable bumpers can be worth the same or varying point values. Thetotal points earned in the first nine seconds of the designated gamingsession illustrated in FIG. 4A equal 20 points. This running point totalis displayed in FIG. 4B as indicated by reference number 66. Only fiftyof the 1000 credits were used for the activation of the DOUBLE DIAMONDgame, and therefore the CREDITS REMAINING field 100 displays: 950credits.

It should be appreciated that the size and location of the individuallyactivatable components is in various embodiments integral in determiningthe RTP of the corresponding chance based game. As described above, inan embodiment with a larger individually activatable bumper, or a moreprominently located individually activatable bumper, the bumper iseasier to activate, and therefore the RTP is relatively lower.

It should be appreciated that, in various embodiments, the player'sSCORE and TOTAL AWARD are separate from one another. For example, as inFIGS. 4A and 4B, the SCORE or point total is determined based solely onhow many and which individually activatable bumpers the player hasactivated. The individual values that make up the TOTAL AWARD 68,however, are each determined randomly upon the respective activations ofthe chance based slot games.

In one embodiment, the player accumulates awards, but the gaming devicedoes not maintain a SCORE, and the individually activatable componentsare not associated with a point total. In another embodiment, the playeraccumulates points and the chance to win awards during the gamingsession. As further discussed below, in one such embodiment, the numberof points scored is associated with the total award won, and more pointsscored by the player may result in more opportunities to win awards.

Referring now to FIGS. 5A and 5B, the player has now been playing thegaming system for 18 seconds, and nine seconds have elapsed since theDOUBLE DIAMOND® game was activated, as described above. During this ninesecond period, the ball 41 has triggered the TRIPLE LUCKY 7'S® gamethree times, the DOUBLE DIAMOND® game once and the RED WHITE & BLUE®game twice. The gaming device displays a play of one of the chance basedgames on the upper cabinet 16 when the individually activatable bumperassociated with the respective chance based game is activated.

It should be appreciated that the processor and memory device in thegaming system are configured to track the occurrence of each activatingcondition. In one embodiment, the memory device stores this information,which for simplification, is represented in table 200 illustrated inFIG. 5C. The table 200 has a row for each individually activatablebumper which is associated with a chance based slot game. The table 200includes a plurality of columns for a recording plurality of activatingconditions. Each time the ball 41 strikes or interacts with one of theindividually activatable bumpers listed in the table 200 (i.e., bumper20, 22, and 24), the gaming system is configured to log certaininformation in the table 200. As discussed above and shown in FIGS. 4Aand 4B, the DOUBLE DIAMOND® chance based slot game 50 was triggered with2:51 remaining in the designated gaming session, and the play of thatgame was displayed on the upper cabinet of the gaming device viewable bythe player. Referring now to FIG. 5C, row B corresponds to the DOUBLEDIAMOND® chance based game and column 1 corresponds to the firstactivating condition for the individually activatable bumper associatedwith the chance based games. At 2:51 when bumper 20 was activated, andthe DOUBLE DIAMOND® game was triggered and the play displayed, thegaming system logged the time of activating and the time elapsed betweenactivating conditions in the cell intersected by row B and column 1.Therefore, that cell reads: 2:51/9.0, which means that the firstactivating condition occurred on the bumper associated with the DOUBLEDIAMOND® game with 2:51 remaining in the designated gaming session, and9.0 seconds had elapsed between that activating condition and either:(i) the beginning of the designated gaming session, or (ii) the lastactivating condition. It should be appreciated that the tableillustrated in FIG. 5C includes a plurality of blank columns in whichfuture triggering activations will be recorded, as necessary.

Correspondingly, the multiple activating conditions which occurred onthe bumpers associated with the TRIPLE LUCKY 7'S®, DOUBLE DIAMOND® andRED WHITE & BLUE® games at the point in time of FIGS. 5A and 5B havealso been logged in table 200 in FIG. 5C. For example, the secondactivating condition of the designated gaming session occurred at 2:49when the ball 41 activated bumper 22 associated with the TRIPLE LUCKY7'S® game. The gaming device triggers and displays a play of the TRIPLELUCKY 7'S® game corresponding to this activation. As shown in table 200,the time elapsed between the second activating condition and the firstactivating condition is 2.0 seconds. The third activating conditionoccurred two seconds later at 2:47 when the ball 41 activated bumper 20associated with the DOUBLE DIAMOND® game. The gaming device triggers anddisplays a play of the DOUBLE DIAMOND® game corresponding with thisactivation. The fourth activating condition occurred 0.5 seconds laterat 2:46.5 when the ball 41 activated bumper 22 associated with theTRIPLE LUCKY 7'S® game. The gaming device triggers and displays a playof the TRIPLE LUCKY 7'S® game corresponding with this activation. Asrecorded in column 1 row C, the fifth activating condition occurred 2.5seconds after the fourth activating condition at 2:44 when the ball 41activated bumper 24 associated with the RED WHITE & BLUE® game. Thegaming device triggers and displays a play of the RED WHITE & BLUE® gamecorresponding with this activation. As recorded in column 3, row A, thesixth activating condition occurred 1.5 seconds after the fifthactivating condition at 2:42.5 when the ball 41 activated the TRIPLELUCKY 7'S® game. The gaming device triggers and displays a play of theTRIPLE LUCKY 7'S® game corresponding with this activation. As shown incolumn 2, row C, the seventh activating condition occurred 0.5 secondsafter the sixth activating condition at 2:42 when the ball 41 activatedthe RED WHITE & BLUE® game. The gaming device triggers and displays aplay of the RED WHITE & BLUE® game corresponding with this activation.

As discussed above, most plays of a typical pinball game would result inmuch more frequent and rapid activations. The number and timing ofactivations in the above example embodiment are intentionally spread outto more clearly illustrate the math and process involved with the timebased gaming wagering system of this example.

Referring now to FIG. 5D, the data represented by table 200 is displayedgraphically along a set of axes, T and ΔT. The horizontal axis Trepresents the time remaining in the designated gaming session, startingfrom three minutes and decreasing to the right. The vertical axis ΔTrepresents the time elapsed between activating conditions. Eachactivating condition displayed along this graph includes a set ofinformation, which is shown in each of boxes 350 to 420.

In various embodiments, the gaming system is configured to trigger eachchance based game associated with an activated individually activatablebumper by spinning its reels, as discussed above. As illustrated in FIG.5D, the triggering of the chance based games come quickly due to thechaotic nature and fast game play of pinball as discussed above. Forexample, the trigger illustrated in box 410 is only one half of onesecond removed from the trigger illustrated in box 420. As a result, inmany embodiments, the reels associated with the different chance basedgames spin simultaneously.

When a certain chance based game is triggered multiple times within ashort period of time (i.e., the ball gets caught bouncing between oneindividually activatable bumper and another individually activatablebumper for a period), the gaming system cannot necessarily start thereels spinning at the time the associated individually activatablebumper is activated. Therefore, in certain embodiments, each of thegames displayed in the upper housing 16 of the cabinet 12 include aqueue such as SPIN METERs 50 e, 52 e, and 54 e for each of the threechance based games, which respectively keep track of how many spins havebeen earned for each chance based game. In one such embodiment, eachmeter keeps track of the number of respective reel spins which muststill be provided to the player, due to the back-logged number ofactivating conditions. For example, if the TRIPLE LUCKY 7'S® game takes2.5 seconds to activate the reels from start to finish, and the playerhits the individually activatable bumper associated with the TRIPLELUCKY 7'S® game three times in 2.5 seconds, the SPIN METER will beginthe first spin and indicate that two spins are due when the opportunityis available and the reels have stopped spinning for the first spin. Itshould be appreciated that the reels of associated chance based gamescan be configured to start and stop spinning very rapidly. In oneembodiment, the reels can start as quickly as 100 milliseconds apart. Inone embodiment, the reels rapidly sequentially spin similar to a seriesof free spins, wherein the reels spin and stop to display the outcomeand any associated winning amount, only to restart again. As displayedin FIG. 5B, each of the SPIN METER displays 50 e, 52 e and 54 e read “0”which indicates that there are no spins in the queue.

It should be appreciated that for each activation of an individuallyactivatable component, the player need not provide an input. It shouldbe appreciated that, the illustrated embodiment does not include a queueof spins displayed in the respective SPIN METER displays 50 e, 52 e, and54 e for the chance based games.

In addition to the seven activations of chance based slot games, betweenthe first activation of the DOUBLE DIAMOND® game 50 with 2:51 remainingand the point of the game illustrated in FIG. 5B, the ball struck eachof bumpers 100, 104, 106 and 108 three times. As shown in FIG. 5A, eachof the activated bumpers 100, 104, 106, and 108 is illuminated. Asdescribed above, each activation of a non-associated individuallyactivatable bumper, such as 100, 104, 106 and 108 results in theawarding of a certain point total to the player. In this embodiment, theactivated individually activatable bumpers are worth ten points each.Each of the four bumpers were activated three times in the nine secondsthat have elapsed between the FIG. 4 series and the FIG. 5 series.Therefore, the player has earned a total of 120 points due to activationof individually activatable bumpers which are not associated with chancebased games. This point total is added to the previous point total of20, and displayed in the SCORE meter display 66.

Referring now to FIGS. 6A and 6B, the gaming session is nearing an endwith only 20 seconds remaining until the gaming session expires, asindicated by the TIME REMAINING display 62. Several activations andevents have occurred in the intervening two minutes and twenty twoseconds since the state of the gaming session at FIGS. 5A to 5D.

The player has earned a total of 5,630 points. In this embodiment, whenthe player's score displayed in the SCORE meter 66 surpasses apredetermined threshold, a bonus event occurs. In the embodimentillustrated by FIGS. 6A and 6B, when a player's score eclipses the 5,000point mark, a bonus individually activatable bumper appears or isenabled in the pinball playfield 18. The bonus bumper 25 in FIG. 6Abecomes illuminated with the image of a star. In this embodiment, whenthe star bonus bumper 25 is activated by the ball 41, one reel of achance based bonus slot game will be activated. When the bonus bumper 25is activated a second time, a second reel associated with the chancebased bonus slot game is activated. When the bonus bumper 25 isactivated for a third time, the third and final reel associated with thechance based bonus slot game is activated.

In various embodiments, the first and second reels of the bonus chancebased game spin once activated, and continue to spin until the bonusbumper 25 is activated for a third time, and the third reel isactivated. It should be appreciated that the bonus chance based slotgame of this embodiment has a RTP value greater than 100%, whichguarantees a winning outcome to the player for any plays of the bonuschance based slot game. It should be appreciated that the bonus bumper25 is situated in a rear portion of the pinball playfield 18, whichmakes it more difficult to activate. In various embodiments, the bonusbumper is significantly smaller than other individually activatablebumpers on the playfield 18, thereby making it more difficult toactivate. Due to the high level of skill required to first earn enoughpoints to activate the bonus bumper, and then to activate the bonusbumper three times, the reward to the player is a guaranteed winningoutcome.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 6A and 6B, when the bonus bumperis activated and appears for the first time, the bonus chance based slotgame is displayed 70 in the upper cabinet 16. In the illustratedembodiment, the player has activated bonus bumper 25 only one time.Therefore, the first reel 70 a is spinning, and the second 70 b andthird 70 c reels have not yet been activated. The gaming system will notaward any credits to the player until all three reels are spun and anoutcome is determined. As a result, the CREDITS display 70 d remains atzero in FIG. 6B. Shown in FIG. 6B, the bonus bumper 25 indicatesprogress to the player regarding how many activations are required toactivate all three bonus chance based game reels. The bonus bumper hasonly been activated once, therefore one third of the three circularindicator lights have been illuminated in FIG. 6A.

In addition to the activation of the bonus bumper 25, the player hasincreased the amount of credits won from 500 credits to 1205 creditssince the last snapshot of the game at 2:42, as displayed in TOTAL AWARD68. In the interim period between the points in time illustrated by FIG.5 series and the points in time illustrated by FIG. 6 series, theplurality of activations have resulted in a net increase of 705 credits.Following the same time-based wagering procedure as discussed above, thethree chance based slot games DOUBLE DIAMOND® 50, TRIPLE LUCKY 7'S® 52and RED WHITE & BLUE® 54 have been triggered several times. Followingeach activation, the gaming system determined whether the outcomesresulted in a winning outcome, and if so, how many credits associatedwith that winning outcome are to be provided to the player. Similar tothe above-described embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 5A to 5D, theprocessor and memory device tracks when each individually activatablebumper is activated, and how many credits are wagered in each associatedwagering event when the corresponding chance based slot games areactivated.

It should be appreciated that, in the illustrated embodiment, theeffective amount of credits wagered for each wagering event resultingfrom an activating condition is linearly related to the time elapsed inthe gaming session. As explained above in reference to the state of thegame with 2:42 seconds remaining, twenty credits were wagered at thatpoint. The total effective number of credits wagered at that point wouldbe twenty regardless of how many times individually activatable bumperswere activated and how many wagering events occurred. In the illustratedembodiment of FIGS. 6A and 6B, only twenty seconds remain in the gamingsession. Therefore, of the 1000 credits which were available forwagering at the start of the gaming session, only 111 credits remainwhich may be wagered on future chance based game activations (twentyseconds divided by three minutes equals 20/180, or 0.111, which ismultiplied by 1000 total credits to equal 111 credits).

Referring now to FIGS. 7A and 7B, the pinball gaming session for theillustrated embodiment has ended, as indicated by the TIME REMAINING:0:00 as indicated by numeral 62. In the final twenty seconds between thepoints in time of the gaming session as illustrated in FIGS. 6A and 6Band the points in time of the gaming session illustrated in FIGS. 7A and7B, the player has activated the bonus bumper 25 two additional times,thereby triggering the second reel 70 b and third reel 70 c of the bonuschance based slot game 70 as displayed in the upper housing 16.Furthermore, the player has accumulated an additional 120 points foractivating twelve more non-associated individually activatable bumpers,and the player has activated the TRIPLE LUCKY 7'S® chance based game 52once by activating the associated individually activatable bumper 22. Inthe final twenty seconds of the gaming session, the DOUBLE DIAMOND® 50and RED WHITE & BLUE® 54 chance based slot games were not triggered, andtherefore the reel positions for those two chance based slot games asillustrated in FIG. 6B remain unchanged in FIG. 7B.

More specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 7B, due to the activation ofbonus bumper 25 two additional times, each of the three reels 70 a, 70b, and 70 c have spun and stopped, revealing three symbols. Furthermore,each of the three areas of the pinball playfield 18 surrounding bonusbumper 25 have been illuminated, notifying the player that the bonuschance based game is now fully activated.

It should be appreciated that, in various embodiments, the gaming systemis configured to employ the same time based gaming techniques todetermine each wager amount for the bonus bumper. For example, in thisembodiment, the player has activated the bonus bumper at three differenttimes in the gaming session. Each time the bonus bumper is activated, awagering event occurs, and the gaming system determines the amount ofthe effective wager based upon time, similar to the above describedexamples with the non-bonus individually activatable bumpers. The bonuschance based slot game includes a paytable which guarantees an award ofat least the amount of effective credits wagered, but the gaming systemdetermines the number of effective credits wagered based upon when thethree reels are activated due to the bonus bumper being activated thedesignated number of times, such as three times (i.e., in thisembodiment, one for each reel). It should be appreciated that activationof the bonus bumper can cause all of the bonus reels to be activated orspun.

In one embodiment, the gaming system determines the difference in timebetween: (i) the first activating condition of the bonus bumper and theimmediately preceding activating condition of an individuallyactivatable bumper; (ii) the second activating condition of the bonusbumper and the immediately preceding activating condition of anindividually activatable bumper; and (iii) the third activatingcondition of the bonus bumper and the immediately preceding activatingcondition of an individually activatable bumper. In such an embodiment,the gaming system adds up the three differences in time to determine thetotal effective credits to be wagered on the bonus chance based slotgame. It should be appreciated that, in such a configuration, a playeris rewarded more handsomely if his or her skill level is high enough toactivate the hard to reach bonus bumper without first activating any ofthe individually activatable bumpers on the way.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 7A and 7B, after being spun, thethree reels 70 a, 70 b and 70 c of the bonus chance based game eachdisplay a star symbol. The total effective wager amount as calculated bythe time differential corresponding to the first, second and third reelactivations is multiplied by the paytable award for the winning symbolcombination STAR-STAR-STAR results in a total award of 300 credits. Thisadditional award amount is added to the cumulative TOTAL AWARD displayedin 68 to be provided to the player at the end of the gaming session.These credits are included in the TOTAL AWARD display 68 located at thetop of the upper housing display device 16.

In the final twenty seconds of the gaming session, the player activatedthe several different non-associated individually activatable bumpers 28times, to add a total of 280 points onto the previous score of 5,630points, totaling 5,910 points. It should be appreciated that, in thisembodiment, the points were used to “unlock” features in pinballplayfield 18, such as the bonus bumper. In other embodiments, the pointsare used to unlock other such bonus features such as multipliers, asfurther described below. In various embodiments, however, because theactivation of each non-associated individually activatable bumper doesnot include a wagering event, the points earned throughout a gamingsession do not necessarily directly translate into additional awardcredits provided.

In addition to the activation of the bonus chance based slot game, theTRIPLE LUCKY 7'S® 52 game was activated one last time before the gamingsession expired. As shown in FIG. 7B, the final activation of TRIPLELUCKY 7'S® resulted in a winning outcome of SEVEN-SEVEN-SEVEN, asindicated by reels 52 a, 52 b, and 52 c. When compared to the TRIPLELUCKY 7'S® paytable and multiplied by the effective wager determined bythe time since the immediately preceding individually activated bumperactivating condition, this outcome results in an award of 140 credits.When added to the 1205 credits awarded with twenty seconds remaining asillustrated in FIG. 6B, and the 300 credits awarded from the bonuschance based slot game, the TOTAL AWARD calculated and provided to theplayer for this gaming session is 1,645 credits. When compared to thetotal number of 1,000 credits from the initial wager of $10.00, theplayer in this embodiment came out ahead by 645 credits, or $6.45.

In the above illustrated embodiment, the skill based game which includesindividually activatable components associated with chance basedcomponents is a pinball game. It should be appreciated that in variousembodiments, different skill based games can include similarindividually activatable components and chance based components to thosedescribed above. For example, in one embodiment, an asteroids type gameis employed. In another embodiment, a scavenger hunt type game isemployed. It should be appreciated that any suitable base game includingskill based components which are individually or selectively activatableby the player can be used with the chance based components and timebased gaming contemplated by the present disclosure.

In the above-described embodiment, the individually activatablecomponents are bumpers on a pinball machine playfield. In variousembodiments, however, an individually activatable component is activatedbased on certain point thresholds, player status or wager amounts. Inanother embodiment, the individually activatable components areassociated with a time-based player performance requirement. Forexample, in a race car game embodiment, the player will activate anindividually activatable component by recording a fast lap time orcheckpoint time.

It should be appreciated that the chance based components associatedwith the individually activatable components can result in a pluralityof rewards for the player. In the above described embodiments, theresult of the chance based components was an award which, if won, wasprovided directly to the player. In another embodiment, the chance basedcomponent is configured to provide the player an opportunity to wincasino comps or promotions.

It should be appreciated that, as described below, the chance basedcomponent can be any one of a plurality of games of chance, and is notlimited to slot games.

In various embodiments of the present disclosure, the skill based gameand the chance based games are associated with one another to provide aplayer chance-based awards. In a slot game embodiment, the type ofchance-based awards include base game awards associated with eachindividual play of the chance-based game and a paytable, or progressiveawards associated with an accumulating jackpot.

In one such base game award embodiment, the individually activatablecomponents cause each reel in an associated slot game to be activatedfor a chance based award opportunity, similar to the above-illustratedand described embodiment. In such an embodiment, the RTP is less than100%, which indicates that over a large sample size of activations, theexpected average return on each wager is less than 100% of the wagerplaced. In such an embodiment, the casino can control the odds of howmuch a particular chance based game will pay out to players over thelong term. Although a RTP value of less than one will likely result in aplayer receiving a sum total award of less than the amount of wagersplaced, these RTP values are not guaranteed to result in less payout tothe player than wagers placed, and the player still has an opportunityto win a much higher amount than the RTP would dictate due to therandomness of the outcome determination. A more detailed discussion ofthe randomness of a slot game outcome determination is below.

It should be appreciated that one such game can include a RTP value ofgreater than 100% which indicates that over a large sample size ofactivations, the expected return on each wager is more than the wageritself. In one such embodiment, the game with a RTP greater than 100%can only be activated after a series of predefined activations haveoccurred. In such an embodiment, a more skilled player who can completeeach of the series of predefined activations quickly will have a greateropportunity to earn a higher than 100% return on each wager in such agame.

In another base game award embodiment, also briefly discussed above inthe illustrated embodiments, involves cooperating individual reelactivations. In one such embodiment, the reels of a chance based gameare each activated based upon a separate activating condition. In oneembodiment, the gaming system is configured to activate each individualreel only after a predetermined sequence of events have taken place inthe gaming session. For example, in one embodiment, each reel of achance based game is not activated until the player has activated thecorrect sequence of individually activatable bumpers. In anotherembodiment, each reel of the chance based game is not activated untilthe player has recorded a certain threshold of points in a predeterminedallotment of time. It should be appreciated that the activation of eachreel in a cooperating individual reel embodiment can be activated by anysuitable combination of events or set of skill-based challenges.

Other base game award embodiments, also briefly discussed above in theillustrated embodiments, involve accumulating reel activations. In onesuch embodiment, the reels of a chance based game are each activatedbased upon a certain number of activating conditions of individuallyactivatable components. In one embodiment, each reel of the chance basedgame is activated after a designated individually activatable bumper isactivated a predetermined number of times. For example, as discussedabove in FIGS. 6A and 6B to 7A and 7B, an additional chance based game70 was ‘unlocked’ and each activating condition on bumper 25 resulted inthe activation of one of the three reels 70 a, 70 b, and 70 c.

In both of the above described embodiments which include individual reelactivations, the chance based game associated with the individualactivating conditions have a RTP of one or more. This particular type ofchance based game assures a player that the result of the chance basedgame, once fully activated, will pay out to the player at least theentirety of the wager placed. To fully activate a chance based game witha RTP of one or more, the player must possess more skill and knowledgeof the game, and in return, the player is awarded with a higherguaranteed payout amount. In an alternative embodiment, the skill-basedgame is associated with a chance based game which provides anopportunity to win a progressive award, as further discussed below.

In various embodiments, the gaming system generates awards for theplayer based upon a combination of skill based game play and chancebased game play. In the present disclosure, the gaming system of oneembodiment enables the skill based gaming to affect award amountswithout sacrificing the house return certainty. For example, the gamingsystem gives more skilled players increased opportunity to win higherawards than less skilled players while still ensuring the casino willnot on average lose money on the gaming system. In various embodiments,the gaming system controls the payout of the game by adjusting the RTPof each chance based component.

In one embodiment, the gaming system is configured to set the RTP forcertain of the chance based components based upon the severity ofactivating the associated activatable components. For example, in oneembodiment, the RTP is set between 80% and 99% for the chance based slotgames associated with the individually activatable bumpers.

In various embodiments, the gaming system controls the payout of thegame by utilizing the time based gaming mechanisms and controlling theamount of each effective wager placed on an activated chance based game.In one embodiment, as described and illustrated in detail above, thegaming system determined the effective percentage and amount of wagerplaced on each activation of a chance based game based upon the timewhich has elapsed since the last activation of a chance based game orsince the beginning of the gaming session. The quicker individuallyactivatable components are triggered, the more activations of theassociated chance based games occur. However, as a result of the methodby which effective wager amounts are determined in a time-based gamingenvironment, quicker activations result in smaller effective wagersplaced on the games. Even though a more skilled player has an increasednumber of activations of the chance based games, and therefore a betteropportunity to receive a higher relative payout in one or more of thoseactivations, the wagers for each activation are diminutive by comparisonto a less skilled player who has caused fewer activations with more timeelapsed between them and therefore higher wagers per activation.

For example, if a player activates an individually activatable bumperten times in a one minute gaming session (once every six seconds), thegaming system is configured to wager one tenth of the total initialwager on each activation of the associated chance based game. If the RTPof the associated chance based game of this embodiment is 90%, theplayer is statistically likely to recover 90% of each wager. Though the90% return is the probable outcome, due to the randomness of the chancebased games, this player who makes ten wagers has ten differentopportunities to win the jackpot of the chance based game, which is 100times the effective wager amount, or 10% of the total initial wager.

In another example on the same gaming system with the same chance basedgame, suppose a player activates the individually activatable bumperonly twice in the one minute gaming session; once every thirty seconds.For this example, the gaming system is configured to wager one half ofthe total initial wager on each activation of the associated chancebased game. Therefore, unlike the above example, this less skilledplayer has a larger stake in each activation of the chance based game,and rather than recovering on average 9% of the total initial wager foreach effective wager placed, the player is statistically likely torecover 45% of the total initial wager for each effective wager placed.Similarly, the less skilled player has an opportunity to win the jackpotof 100 times the effective wager amount for each activation of thechance based game. However, the less skilled player only has twodifferent opportunities to win that jackpot award.

It should be appreciated that, although time based gaming as describedabove generally provides similar payouts and returns for skilled andnon-skilled players, the gaming system of one embodiment of the presentdisclosure is configured to benefit skilled players by including specialbonus features which can be skillfully unlocked or difficult-to-triggerindividually activatable components which are associated with chancebased games with higher RTP values.

It should also be appreciated that a more skilled player can “earn”bonus bumpers with higher RTP values over the course of a plurality ofplays of the game. In one embodiment, the gaming system is configured tooperate with a suitable player tracking system, as further discussedbelow, which allows a skilled player to benefit from a strong playinghistory in subsequent games. For example, in one embodiment, the playertracking system is configured to track past performances and, uponreaching a predetermined point threshold or predetermined number ofactivations of individually activatable components, the gaming system isconfigured to award bonus opportunities or additional points to theplayer.

In one embodiment, each of the individually activatable components isconfigured to display an image to the player. In one embodiment, thegaming system is configured to color coordinate the individuallyactivatable components based upon a player's progression in the gamingsession. For example, in one pinball embodiment, if the player triggersan individually activatable bumper four times, the gaming system changesthe color of the bumper to blue. In such an embodiment, when each of theindividually activatable bumpers have been changed blue, the player hasentered a bonus mode, and each subsequent activation within the bonusmode has an increased value as regards the points earned or theeffective wager of the associated chance based game. In one suchembodiment, the gaming system is configured to adjust the display on theindividually activatable components when the player has achieved apredetermined point threshold, or when the player has entered a bonussession.

In one embodiment, the color or other property associated with thedisplay of each individually activatable component is related to the RTPassociated with the chance based game associated with that individuallyactivatable component. For example, if a pinball game includes each of ared, white and blue individually activatable bumper, depending uponcertain properties of the bumpers, the red bumper is associated with achance based game with a RTP of 80%, the white bumper is associated witha chance based game with a RTP of 90%, and the blue bumper is associatedwith a chance based game with a RTP of 95%. It should be appreciatedthat in certain embodiments, the level of the RTP associated with theindividually activatable bumper is directly related to the difficulty oftriggering that individually activatable bumper.

It should be appreciated that, in certain time based gaming embodiments,the time purchased in a gaming session has a discrete value, and isinterchangeable with credits awarded to the player. For example, in oneembodiment, the gaming system is configured to provide a player with theoption of exchanging an amount of credits won for an additional amountof time added onto the gaming session. In another embodiment, the gamingsystem is configured to penalize a player for various reasons, and sucha penalty includes deduction of a certain value of gaming session timewhich remains.

In another embodiment, the chance based component is configured toprovide the player an opportunity to win additional time to be added tothe gaming session. For example, in one such embodiment, the if theplayer activates a chance based component which results in a winningoutcome, the player is awarded with an additional amount of time, whichextends the gaming session. In one such embodiment, the amount of timeadded to the gaming session is associated with the odds of receiving thewinning outcome. For example, in one embodiment, the player wagered tencredits to play a one minute long gaming session. During the gamingsession, the player activated an individually activatable componentwhich is associated with a chance based slot game. Any winning outcomeof this particular chance based slot game will be translated to a timeextension of the gaming session, and not a direct credit awarddistribution. After activated, the chance based slot game of thisembodiment results in BAR-BAR-BAR, which is associated with a payout of10 credits per credit wagered. The gaming system is configured todetermine how much the effective wager amount was using the time-basedgaming wagering process, as described above in detail. In this example,the effective wager amount is one credit because six seconds had elapsedsince the immediately preceding triggering condition of an individuallyactivatable component (e.g., six seconds equals one tenth of theone-minute long gaming session, and therefore the effective wager is onetenth of the initial 10 credit wager). After determining the effectiveamount, the gaming system is configured to translate the associatedpayout credits into an amount of time. The BAR-BAR-BAR result isassociated with a payout of ten credits, which is equal to sixtyseconds. In this embodiment, rather than awarding the player tencredits, the gaming system extended the gaming session by sixty seconds.

In various embodiments, the gaming system is configured to deduct thetime remaining in the gaming session a predetermined amount for each ofa plurality of different types of penalties which are incurred duringthe gaming session. In one embodiment, the gaming system is configuredto penalize a player for ‘losing a life’ in the case of a role playinggame or asteroids game. In another embodiment, the gaming system isconfigured to penalize a player for allowing the ball in a pinball gameto slip between the flippers and into the well at the bottom of theplayfield. In one particular pinball embodiment, the gaming system isconfigured to intentionally delay the launch of the next ball as apenalty to the player for allowing the ball to fall into the well. Inanother embodiment, the gaming system is configured to penalize a playerwho crashes his or her car in a racing game. In another embodiment, thegaming system is configured to end a gaming session before the timeremaining expires if the player incurs a predetermined number ofpenalties. In such embodiment in which the player receives a limitednumber of “lives” or balls, the gaming system is configured to wager theequivalent of the remainder of the time remaining in the gaming sessionwhen the final life or final ball has expired.

In one embodiment, the gaming system enables the player to wager acertain amount on each individual chance based game at the beginning ofa gaming session. In one such embodiment, the player has the option tobuy a discrete amount of time for each of the chance based games whichhave different RTP values. For example, if in the above illustratedembodiment, the player decided to wager $5 on the RED, WHITE & BLUEchance based slot game because it has the highest AEP, that game wouldbe associated with its own independent clock, which starts at 1 minute,30 seconds (half of the $10 total wager purchases half of the 3:00 totalgaming time). In such an embodiment, the chance based game associatedwith an independent time meter uses the same time based gamingprocedures as described above, however the magnitude of the wager isassociated with the time decremented on that game's activatablecomponent. For example, if the RED, WHITE & BLUE game had a 1:30 clock,and it was activated at 1:25 and at 1:20, it is irrelevant to thecalculation of the magnitude of the wager of the 1:20 activation thatdifferent individually activatable bumpers were activated at 1:22 and1:23. In such an embodiment, the magnitude of the wager would becalculated using the difference in time from the current activation andthe immediately previous activation of that component.

In alternative embodiments, the gaming system is configured to enablethe player to wager different portions of the total initial wager ondifferent chance based games, but still only use one clock, similar tothe above illustrated embodiment. In such an embodiment, the gamingsystem is configured to weight the magnitude of each activation of achance based game based upon the proportion of the total wagerdesignated for that game by the player.

In one embodiment, as described above, the gaming system includes a SPINMETER, which indicates to the player how many chance based gameactivations have been recorded which have not yet occurred, due to thefast pace and chaotic nature of the triggering of each individuallyactivatable component. In such an embodiment, the gaming system isconfigured to activate each of the chance based games the appropriatenumber of times as indicated on the SPIN METER.

In one embodiment, if the gaming session ends prior to the SPIN METERdecrementing to zero (i.e., more queued up activations of the chancebased games have not yet occurred when time expires), the gaming systemis configured to provide the player with an predetermined bonus awardfor each activation which was in the queue and was not actuallyactivated during the gaming session. In another embodiment, the gamingsystem is configured to extend the time of the gaming session until eachof the outstanding chance based game activations have been activated. Inone such embodiment, the player is not enabled to play the skill basedgame while the remainder of activations are activated. In anotherembodiment, the gaming system is configured to convert the number ofspins remaining in the queue into a multiplier, which is applied to theeffective wager of the final spin of a gaming session. For example, if10 spins remain in the queue when the gaming session expires, the gamingsystem is configured to apply a 10 times multiplier to the effectivewager placed in one final spin.

In one embodiment, each individually activatable component is associatedwith a different chance based game. In one such an embodiment, eachchance based game is associated with only one individually activatablecomponent. In both of these embodiments, each different chance basedgame is associated with a different paytable and virtual reel map.

In another embodiment, one set of reels in a chance based game isassociated with more than one individually activatable component. Insuch an embodiment, each different individually activatable componentassociated with that single set of reels in the chance based game has adifferent award paytable. For example, in one embodiment, a first bumperis associated with a first paytable of a fruit slot game. In thisembodiment, a second bumper is associated with a second paytable of thesame fruit slot game. It should be appreciated that in variousembodiments, harder to activate individually activatable componentsprovide higher returns on a chance based game than easier to activateindividually activatable components which provide lower returns on thesame chance based game.

In various alternative embodiments, different chance based games areused in conjunction with the skill-based game. In one embodiment, thegaming system uses a chance based poker game, such as five-card stud,five card draw, or Texas Hold 'Em. In another embodiment, the gamingsystem uses a chance based blackjack game. In traditional poker orblackjack gaming devices, the player must make decisions and input hisor her decisions based upon circumstances associated with the play ofthe game. In these embodiments, the poker or blackjack chance-basedgames would employ an auto-play strategy, in which a predeterminedoptimal strategy is used in place of requiring individual playerchoices.

In one embodiment of a gaming system employing such a chance based game,the player is prompted at the beginning of the gaming session to providea risk-level strategy for the computer to use. In such an embodiment,the particular chance based game will operate under a different strategydepending upon the risk level chosen by the player. It should beappreciated that the AEP associated with each of the chance based gamesis at least in part determined by how risky of a strategy the playeropts to use (e.g., the more risky the strategy, the lower the AEG, butthe higher the payout).

Now referring to FIGS. 8A and 8B, one example embodiment of a pinballgame used in conjunction with different types of chance based games isillustrated. In FIG. 8A, the pinball playfield 18 includes threeindividually activatable components which are associated with chancebased games. The bumpers 210, 212, and 214 each display a differentsymbol which represents the chance based game associated with thatindividually activatable bumper: bumper 210 is associated with a chancebased Blackjack game (as illustrated in FIG. 8B indicated by referencenumeral 110); bumper 212 is associated with a chance based poker game(as illustrated in FIG. 8B indicated by reference numeral 112); andbumper 214 is associated with a chance based TRIPLE LUCKY 7's slot game(as illustrated in FIG. 8B indicated by reference numeral 114).

As discussed above, each of the Blackjack game 110 and the poker game112 are chance based games which require individual player input. TheTRIPLE LUCKY 7's slot game 114, however, does not require individualplayer input or decision making after the game has started. In thisembodiment, the player is given an opportunity to choose the risk levelassociated with the auto-play strategy for the Blackjack game 110 andthe poker game 112. As indicated by reference numeral 110 a in FIG. 8B,the player has chosen a LOW risk level for the strategy to beautomatically employed in the Blackjack game 110. As indicated byreference numeral 112 a, the player has chosen a HIGH risk level for thestrategy to be automatically employed in the poker game 112. Any playsof the TRIPLE LUCKY 7's game 114 as a result of the activations ofindividually activatable components will proceed similar to the methodsof the slot games described in embodiments above.

When the individually activatable bumper 210 is activated, the Blackjackgame 110 is triggered, and the game is played according to traditionalblackjack rules. The player's cards are dealt in the display area 110 b,and in this embodiment, the player was dealt an ACE and a KING, whichresults in a winning hand of a blackjack. The dealer's cards are dealtin the display area 110 c. The player in this embodiment has a winninghand, and an award is determined by the effective wager amount placedand the type of win which resulted. Similar to the above embodiments,the effective wager placed is dependent upon time-based gaming, and isassociated with the amount of time elapsed when the individuallyactivatable bumper 210 is activated. In this embodiment, the player haschosen a LOW risk level 110 a, and this results in conservative gameplay when decisions must be made (i.e., whether the player should “HIT”or “STAY”).

When the individually activatable bumper 212 is activated, the pokergame 112 is triggered, and the game is played according to traditionalfive-card draw video poker game rules. When activated, five cards aredealt in the display area 112 b. In a typical five-card draw poker game,for each of the five cards, the player then determines whether to holdor discard the cards. In the present embodiment, the gaming deviceautomatically determines for the player which cards to hold or discardbased upon a predetermined set of rules or a playing strategy and therisk level chosen by the player. In this case, the player received aJACK and a THREE, due to the HIGH risk level chosen, the gaming devicehas automatically determined that the remaining three cards should bediscarded and replaced by new cards from the deck. After any discardedcards are automatically replaced, the hand is over and it is compared toa paytable to determine whether or not it qualified as a winning hand.The winning amount associated with the winning hand is also determinedby the effective wager, which is calculated using time-based gamingmethods described above. In this embodiment, the player has chosen aHIGH risk level 112 a, which will result in more risky game play whenautomatic decisions must be made in the game.

It should be appreciated that the present disclosure may be implementedin various configurations for gaming machines, gaming devices, or gamingsystems, including but not limited to: (1) a dedicated gaming machine,gaming device, or gaming system wherein the computerized instructionsfor controlling any games (which are provided by the gaming machine orgaming device) are provided with the gaming machine or gaming deviceprior to delivery to a gaming establishment; and (2) a changeable gamingmachine, gaming device, or gaming system wherein the computerizedinstructions for controlling any games (which are provided by the gamingmachine or gaming device) are downloadable to the gaming machine orgaming device through a data network after the gaming machine or gamingdevice is in a gaming establishment. In one embodiment, the computerizedinstructions for controlling any games are executed by at least onecentral server, central controller, or remote host. In such a “thinclient” embodiment, the central server remotely controls any games (orother suitable interfaces) and the gaming device is utilized to displaysuch games (or suitable interfaces) and receive one or more inputs orcommands from a player. In another embodiment, the computerizedinstructions for controlling any games are communicated from the centralserver, central controller, or remote host to a gaming device localprocessor and memory devices. In such a “thick client” embodiment, thegaming device local processor executes the communicated computerizedinstructions to control any games (or other suitable interfaces)provided to a player.

In one embodiment, one or more gaming devices in a gaming system may bethin client gaming devices and one or more gaming devices in the gamingsystem may be thick client gaming devices. In another embodiment,certain functions of the gaming device are implemented in a thin clientenvironment and certain other functions of the gaming device areimplemented in a thick client environment. In one such embodiment,computerized instructions for controlling any chance based games arecommunicated from the central server to the gaming device in a thickclient configuration and computerized instructions for controlling anysecondary games or bonus functions are executed by a central server in athin client configuration.

It should be appreciated that the shape or configuration of the gamingsystem of the present disclosure may vary. The gaming system may beconfigured so that a player can operate it while standing or sitting.

In one embodiment, the gaming system preferably includes at least oneprocessor, such as a microprocessor, a microcontroller-based platform, asuitable integrated circuit or one or more application-specificintegrated circuits (ASIC's). The processor is in communication with oroperable to access or to exchange signals with at least one data storageor memory device. In one embodiment, the processor and the memory devicereside within the cabinet of the gaming device. The memory device storesprogram code and instructions, executable by the processor, to controlthe gaming device. The memory device also stores other data such asimage data, event data, player input data, random or pseudo-randomnumber generators, pay-table data or information, and applicable gamerules that relate to the play of the gaming device. In one embodiment,the memory device includes random access memory (RAM), which can includenon-volatile RAM (NVRAM), magnetic RAM (MRAM), ferroelectric RAM(FeRAM), and other forms as commonly understood in the gaming industry.In one embodiment, the memory device includes read only memory (ROM). Inone embodiment, the memory device includes flash memory and/or EEPROM(electrically erasable programmable read only memory). Any othersuitable magnetic, optical, and/or semiconductor memory may operate inconjunction with the gaming device disclosed herein.

In one embodiment, part or all of the program code and/or operating datadescribed above can be stored in a detachable or removable memorydevice, including, but not limited to, a suitable cartridge, disk, CDROM, DVD, or USB memory device. In other embodiments, part or all of theprogram code and/or operating data described above can be downloaded tothe memory device through a suitable network.

In one embodiment, an operator or a player can use such a removablememory device in a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a portable computing device, or anothercomputerized platform to implement the present disclosure. In oneembodiment, the gaming device or gaming machine disclosed herein isoperable over a wireless network, for example part of a wireless gamingsystem. It should be appreciated that a gaming device or gaming machineas disclosed herein may be a device that has obtained approval from aregulatory gaming commission or a device that has not obtained approvalfrom a regulatory gaming commission. It should be appreciated that theprocessor and memory device may be collectively referred to herein as a“computer” or “controller.”

In one embodiment, as discussed in more detail below, the gaming devicerandomly generates awards and/or other game outcomes based onprobability data. In one such embodiment, this random determination isprovided through utilization of a random number generator (RNG), such asa true random number generator, a pseudo random number generator, orother suitable randomization process. In one embodiment, each award orother game outcome is associated with a probability and the gamingdevice generates the award or other game outcome to be provided to theplayer based on the associated probabilities. In this embodiment, sincethe gaming device generates outcomes randomly or based upon one or moreprobability calculations, there is no certainty that the gaming devicewill ever provide the player with any specific award or other gameoutcome. Although skilled players will have more frequent opportunitiesto earn awards, they are not guaranteed awards based on skill becausethe outcome of each opportunity is still randomly determined.

In another embodiment, as discussed in more detail below, the gamingdevice employs a predetermined or finite set or pool of awards or othergame outcomes. In this embodiment, as each award or other game outcomeis provided to the player, the gaming device flags or removes theprovided award or other game outcome from the predetermined set or pool.Once flagged or removed from the set or pool, the specific providedaward or other game outcome from that specific pool cannot be providedto the player again. This type of gaming device provides players withall of the available awards or other game outcomes over the course ofthe play cycle and guarantees the amount of actual wins and losses.

In one embodiment, the gaming device includes one or more displaydevices controlled by the processor. The display devices are preferablyconnected to or mounted on the cabinet of the gaming device. Theembodiment shown in FIG. 1 includes an upper cabinet which displays agame. This display device may display any suitable secondary gameassociated with the chance based game as well as information relating tothe chance based or secondary game. This display device may also serveas digital glass operable to advertise games or other aspects of thegaming establishment. As seen in FIGS. 3B, 4B, 5B, 6B, 7B, and 8B, inone embodiment, the gaming device includes a wager display 60 and atotal award display 68. The wager credit display 60 displays a player'stotal initial wager or total initial number of credits, cash, or theequivalent. The total award display 68 displays the amount of theplayer's accumulated awards won over the course of the gaming session.In one embodiment, as described in more detail below, the gaming deviceincludes a player tracking display which displays information regardinga player's play tracking status.

In another embodiment, at least one display device may be a mobiledisplay device, such as a PDA or tablet PC, that enables play of atleast a portion of the chance based or secondary game at a locationremote from the gaming device.

The display devices may include, without limitation, a monitor, atelevision display, a plasma display, a liquid crystal display (LCD) adisplay based on light emitting diodes (LEDs), a display based on aplurality of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), a display based onpolymer light-emitting diodes (PLEDs), a display based on a plurality ofsurface-conduction electron-emitters (SEDs), a display including aprojected and/or reflected image, or any other suitable electronicdevice or display mechanism. In one embodiment, as described in moredetail below, the display device includes a touch-screen with anassociated touch-screen controller. The display devices may be of anysuitable size and configuration, such as a square, a rectangle or anelongated rectangle.

The display devices of the gaming device are configured to display atleast one and preferably a plurality of game or other suitable images,symbols and indicia such as any visual representation or exhibition ofthe movement of objects such as mechanical, virtual, or video reels andwheels, dynamic lighting, video images, images of people, characters,places, things, faces of cards, and the like.

In one alternative embodiment, the symbols, images and indicia displayedon or of the display device may be in mechanical form. That is, thedisplay device may include any electromechanical device, such as one ormore mechanical objects, such as one or more rotatable wheels, reels, ordice, configured to display at least one or a plurality of game or othersuitable images, symbols or indicia.

In one embodiment, the gaming device includes at least one paymentdevice in communication with the processor. The payment device such as apayment acceptor includes a note, ticket or bill acceptor wherein theplayer inserts paper money, a ticket, or voucher and a coin slot wherethe player inserts money, coins, or tokens. In other embodiments,payment devices such as readers or validators for credit cards, debitcards or credit slips may accept payment. In one embodiment, a playermay insert an identification card into a card reader of the gamingdevice. In one embodiment, the identification card is a smart cardhaving a programmed microchip, a coded magnetic strip or codedrewritable magnetic strip, wherein the programmed microchip or magneticstrips are coded with a player's identification, credit totals (orrelated data), and/or other relevant information. In another embodiment,a player may carry a portable device, such as a cell phone, a radiofrequency identification tag, or any other suitable wireless device,which communicates a player's identification, credit totals (or relateddata), and other relevant information to the gaming device. In oneembodiment, money may be transferred to a gaming device throughelectronic funds transfer. When a player funds the gaming device, theprocessor determines the amount of funds entered and displays thecorresponding amount on the credit or other suitable display asdescribed above.

In one embodiment the gaming device includes at least one and preferablya plurality of input devices in communication with the processor. Theinput devices can include any suitable device which enables the playerto produce an input signal which is received by the processor. In oneembodiment, after appropriate funding of the gaming device, the inputdevice is a game activation device, such as a play button or a pull armwhich is used by the player to start any chance based game or sequenceof events in the gaming device. In one embodiment, upon appropriatefunding, the gaming device begins the game play automatically. Inanother embodiment, upon the player engaging one of the play buttons,the gaming device automatically activates game play.

In one embodiment, one input device is a cash out button. The player maypush the cash out button and cash out to receive a cash payment or othersuitable form of payment corresponding to the number of remainingcredits. In one embodiment, when the player cashes out, a paymentdevice, such as a ticket, payment, or note generator prints or otherwisegenerates a ticket or credit slip to provide to the player. The playerreceives the ticket or credit slip and may redeem the value associatedwith the ticket or credit slip via a cashier (or other suitableredemption system). In another embodiment, when the player cashes out,the player receives the coins or tokens in a coin payout tray. It shouldbe appreciated that any suitable payout mechanisms, such as funding tothe player's electronically recordable identification card or smartcard, may be implemented in accordance with the gaming device disclosedherein.

In one embodiment, as mentioned above, one input device is atouch-screen coupled with a touch-screen controller or some othertouch-sensitive display overlay to allow for player interaction with theimages on the display. The touch-screen and the touch-screen controllerare connected to a video controller. A player can make decisions andinput signals into the gaming device by touching the touch-screen at theappropriate locations. One such input device is a conventionaltouch-screen button panel.

The gaming device may further include a plurality of communication portsfor enabling communication of the processor with external peripherals,such as external video sources, expansion buses, game or other displays,a SCSI port, or a keypad.

In one embodiment, the gaming device includes a sound generating devicecontrolled by one or more sounds cards which function in conjunctionwith the processor. In one embodiment, the sound generating deviceincludes at least one and preferably a plurality of speakers or othersound generating hardware and/or software for generating sounds, such asby playing music for the chance based and/or secondary game or byplaying music for other modes of the gaming device, such as an attractmode. In one embodiment, the gaming device provides dynamic soundscoupled with attractive multimedia images displayed on one or more ofthe display devices to provide an audio-visual representation or tootherwise display full-motion video with sound to attract players to thegaming device. During idle periods, the gaming device may display asequence of audio and/or visual attraction messages to attract potentialplayers to the gaming device. The videos may also be customized toprovide any appropriate information.

In one embodiment, the gaming machine may include a sensor, such as acamera, in communication with the processor (and possibly controlled bythe processor), that is selectively positioned to acquire an image of aplayer actively using the gaming device and/or the surrounding area ofthe gaming device. In one embodiment, the camera may be configured toselectively acquire still or moving (e.g., video) images and may beconfigured to acquire the images in an analog, digital, or othersuitable format. The display devices may be configured to display theimage acquired by the camera as well as to display the visiblemanifestation of the game in split screen or picture-in-picture fashion.For example, the camera may acquire an image of the player and theprocessor may incorporate that image into the chance based and/orsecondary game as a game image, symbol or indicia.

Gaming device 10 can incorporate any suitable wagering game as thechance based game. The gaming machine or device may include some or allof the features of conventional gaming machines or devices. The chancebased game may comprise any suitable reel-type game, card game,cascading or falling symbol game, number game, or other game of chancesusceptible to representation in an electronic or electromechanicalform, which in one embodiment produces a random outcome based onprobability data at the time of or after placement of a wager. That is,different secondary wagering games, such as video poker games, videoblackjack games, video keno, video bingo or any other suitable chancebased game may be implemented.

In one embodiment, a chance based game may be a slot game with one ormore paylines. The paylines may be horizontal, vertical, circular,diagonal, angled or any combination thereof. In this embodiment, thegaming device includes at least one and preferably a plurality of reels,such as three to five reels, in either electromechanical form withmechanical rotating reels or video form with simulated reels andmovement thereof. In one embodiment, an electromechanical slot machinein the gaming device includes a plurality of adjacent, rotatable reelswhich may be combined and operably coupled with an electronic display ofany suitable type. In another embodiment, if the reels are in videoform, one or more of the display devices, as described above, displaysthe plurality of simulated video reels. Each reel displays a pluralityof indicia or symbols, such as bells, hearts, fruits, numbers, letters,bars, or other images which preferably correspond to a theme associatedwith the gaming device. In another embodiment, one or more of the reelsare independent reels or unisymbol reels. In this embodiment, eachindependent or unisymbol reel generates and displays one symbol to theplayer. In one embodiment, the gaming device awards prizes after thereels of the chance based game stop spinning if specified types and/orconfigurations of indicia or symbols occur on an active payline orotherwise occur in a winning pattern, occur on the requisite number ofadjacent reels and/or occur in a scatter pay arrangement.

In an alternative embodiment, rather than determining any outcome toprovide to the player by analyzing the symbols generated on any wageredupon paylines as described above, the gaming device determines anyoutcome to provide to the player based on the number of associatedsymbols which are generated in active symbol positions on the requisitenumber of adjacent reels (i.e., not on paylines passing through anydisplayed winning symbol combinations). In this embodiment, if a winningsymbol combination is generated on the reels, the gaming device providesthe player one award for that occurrence of the generated winning symbolcombination. For example, if one winning symbol combination is generatedon the reels, the gaming device will provide a single award to theplayer for that winning symbol combination (i.e., not based on thenumber of paylines that would have passed through that winning symbolcombination). It should be appreciated that because a gaming device thatenables wagering on ways to win provides the player one award for asingle occurrence of a winning symbol combination and a gaming devicewith paylines may provide the player more than one award for the sameoccurrence of a single winning symbol combination (i.e., if a pluralityof paylines each pass through the same winning symbol combination), itis possible to provide a player at a ways to win gaming device with moreways to win for an equivalent bet or wager on a traditional slot gamingdevice with paylines.

In one embodiment, the total number of ways to win is determined bymultiplying the number of symbols generated in active symbol positionson a first reel by the number of symbols generated in active symbolpositions on a second reel by the number of symbols generated in activesymbol positions on a third reel and so on for each reel of the gamingdevice with at least one symbol generated in an active symbol position.For example, a three reel gaming device with three symbols generated inactive symbol positions on each reel includes 27 ways to win (i.e., 3symbols on the first reel×3 symbols on the second reel×3 symbols on thethird reel). A four reel gaming device with three symbols generated inactive symbol positions on each reel includes 81 ways to win (i.e., 3symbols on the first reel×3 symbols on the second reel×3 symbols on thethird reel×3 symbols on the fourth reel). A five reel gaming device withthree symbols generated in active symbol positions on each reel includes243 ways to win (i.e., 3 symbols on the first reel×3 symbols on thesecond reel×3 symbols on the third reel×3 symbols on the fourth reel×3symbols on the fifth reel). It should be appreciated that modifying thenumber of generated symbols by either modifying the number of reels ormodifying the number of symbols generated in active symbol positions byone or more of the reels modifies the number of ways to win.

In another embodiment, the gaming device enables a player to wager onand thus activate symbol positions. In one such embodiment, the symbolpositions are on the reels. In this embodiment, if based on the player'swager, a reel is activated, then each of the symbol positions of thatreel will be activated and each of the active symbol positions will bepart of one or more of the ways to win. In one embodiment, if based onthe player's wager, a reel is not activated, then a designated number ofdefault symbol positions, such as a single symbol position of the middlerow of the reel, will be activated and the default symbol position(s)will be part of one or more of the ways to win. This type of gamingmachine enables a player to wager on one, more than one or all of thereels and the processor of the gaming device uses the number of wageredon reels to determine the active symbol positions and the number ofpossible ways to win. In alternative embodiments, (1) no symbols aredisplayed as generated at any of the inactive symbol positions, or (2)any symbols generated at any inactive symbol positions may be displayedto the player but suitably shaded or otherwise designated as inactive.

In one embodiment wherein a player wagers on one or more reels, aplayer's wager of one credit may activate each of the three symbolpositions on a first reel, wherein one default symbol position isactivated on each of the remaining four reels. In this example, asdescribed above, the gaming device provides the player three ways to win(i.e., 3 symbols on the first reel×1 symbol on the second reel×1 symbolon the third reel×1 symbol on the fourth reel×1 symbol on the fifthreel). In another example, a player's wager of nine credits may activateeach of the three symbol positions on a first reel, each of the threesymbol positions on a second reel and each of the three symbol positionson a third reel wherein one default symbol position is activated on eachof the remaining two reels. In this example, as described above, thegaming device provides the player twenty-seven ways to win (i.e., 3symbols on the first reel×3 symbols on the second reel×3 symbols on thethird reel×1 symbol on the fourth reel×1 symbol on the fifth reel).

In one embodiment, to determine any award(s) to provide to the playerbased on the generated symbols, the gaming device individuallydetermines if a symbol generated in an active symbol position on a firstreel forms part of a winning symbol combination with or is otherwisesuitably related to a symbol generated in an active symbol position on asecond reel. In this embodiment, the gaming device classifies each pairof symbols which form part of a winning symbol combination (i.e., eachpair of related symbols) as a string of related symbols. For example, ifactive symbol positions include a first cherry symbol generated in thetop row of a first reel and a second cherry symbol generated in thebottom row of a second reel, the gaming device classifies the two cherrysymbols as a string of related symbols because the two cherry symbolsform part of a winning symbol combination.

After determining if any strings of related symbols are formed betweenthe symbols on the first reel and the symbols on the second reel, thegaming device determines if any of the symbols from the next adjacentreel should be added to any of the formed strings of related symbols. Inthis embodiment, for a first of the classified strings of relatedsymbols, the gaming device determines if any of the symbols generated bythe next adjacent reel form part of a winning symbol combination or areotherwise related to the symbols of the first string of related symbols.If the gaming device determines that a symbol generated on the nextadjacent reel is related to the symbols of the first string of relatedsymbols, that symbol is subsequently added to the first string ofrelated symbols. For example, if the first string of related symbols isthe string of related cherry symbols and a related cherry symbol isgenerated in the middle row of the third reel, the gaming device addsthe related cherry symbol generated on the third reel to the previouslyclassified string of cherry symbols.

On the other hand, if the gaming device determines that no symbolsgenerated on the next adjacent reel are related to the symbols of thefirst string of related symbols, the gaming device marks or flags suchstring of related symbols as complete. For example, if the first stringof related symbols is the string of related cherry symbols and none ofthe symbols of the third reel are related to the cherry symbols of thepreviously classified string of cherry symbols, the gaming device marksor flags the string of two cherry symbols as complete.

After either adding a related symbol to the first string of relatedsymbols or marking the first string of related symbols as complete, thegaming device proceeds as described above for each of the remainingclassified strings of related symbols which were previously classifiedor formed from related symbols on the first and second reels.

After analyzing each of the remaining strings of related symbols, thegaming device determines, for each remaining pending or incompletestring of related symbols, if any of the symbols from the next adjacentreel, if any, should be added to any of the previously classifiedstrings of related symbols. This process continues until either eachstring of related symbols is complete or there are no more adjacentreels of symbols to analyze. In this embodiment, where there are no moreadjacent reels of symbols to analyze, the gaming device marks each ofthe remaining pending strings of related symbols as complete.

When each of the strings of related symbols is marked complete, thegaming device compares each of the strings of related symbols to anappropriate paytable and provides the player any award associated witheach of the completed strings of symbols. It should be appreciated thatthe player is provided one award, if any, for each string of relatedsymbols generated in active symbol positions (i.e., as opposed to aquantity of awards being based on how many paylines that would havepassed through each of the strings of related symbols in active symbolpositions).

In one embodiment, in addition to winning credits or other awards in achance based game, the gaming device may also give players theopportunity to win credits in a bonus or secondary game or in a bonus orsecondary round. The bonus or secondary game enables the player toobtain a prize or payout in addition to the prize or payout, if any,obtained from the chance based game. In general, a bonus or secondarygame produces a significantly higher level of player excitement than thechance based game because it provides a greater expectation of winningthan the chance based game, and is accompanied with more attractive orunusual features than the chance based game. In one embodiment, thebonus or secondary game may be any type of suitable game, either similarto or completely different from the chance based game.

In one embodiment, the triggering event or qualifying condition may be aselected outcome in the chance based game or a particular arrangement ofone or more indicia on a display device in the chance based game. Inother embodiments, the triggering event or qualifying condition occursbased on exceeding a certain amount of game play (such as number ofgames, number of credits, amount of time), or reaching a specifiednumber of points earned during game play.

In another embodiment, the gaming device processor or central controllerrandomly provides the player one or more plays of one or more secondarygames. In one such embodiment, the gaming device does not provide anyapparent reason to the player for qualifying to play a secondary orbonus game. In this embodiment, qualifying for a bonus game is nottriggered by an event in or based specifically on any of the plays ofany chance based game. That is, the gaming device may simply qualify aplayer to play a secondary game without any explanation or alternativelywith simple explanations. In another embodiment, the gaming device (orcentral server) qualifies a player for a secondary game at leastpartially based on a game triggered or symbol triggered event, such asat least partially based on the play of a chance based game.

In one embodiment, the gaming device includes a program which willautomatically begin a bonus round after the player has achieved atriggering event or qualifying condition in the chance based game. Inanother embodiment, after a player has qualified for a bonus game, theplayer may subsequently enhance his/her bonus game participation throughcontinued play on the chance based game. Thus, for each bonus qualifyingevent, such as a bonus symbol, that the player obtains, a given numberof bonus game wagering points or credits may be accumulated in a “bonusmeter” programmed to accrue the bonus wagering credits or entries towardeventual participation in a bonus game. The occurrence of multiple suchbonus qualifying events in the chance based game may result in anarithmetic or exponential increase in the number of bonus wageringcredits awarded. In one embodiment, the player may redeem extra bonuswagering credits during the bonus game to extend play of the bonus game.

In one embodiment, no separate entry fee or buy-in for a bonus game isneeded. That is, a player may not purchase entry into a bonus game;rather they must win or earn entry through play of the chance basedgame, thus encouraging play of the chance based game. In anotherembodiment, qualification of the bonus or secondary game is accomplishedthrough a simple “buy-in” by the player—for example, if the player hasbeen unsuccessful at qualifying through other specified activities. Inanother embodiment, the player must make a separate side-wager on thebonus game or wager a designated amount in the chance based game toqualify for the secondary game. In this embodiment, the secondary gametriggering event must occur and the side-wager (or designated chancebased game wager amount) must have been placed to trigger the secondarygame.

In one embodiment, one or more of the gaming devices are incommunication with each other and/or at least one central controllerthrough a data network or remote communication link. In this embodiment,the central server, central controller or remote host is any suitableserver or computing device which includes at least one processor and atleast one memory or storage device. In different such embodiments, thecentral server is a progressive controller or a processor of one of thegaming devices in the gaming system. In these embodiments, the processorof each gaming device is designed to transmit and receive events,messages, commands, or any other suitable data or signal between theindividual gaming device and the central server. The gaming deviceprocessor is operable to execute such communicated events, messages, orcommands in conjunction with the operation of the gaming device.Moreover, the processor of the central server is designed to transmitand receive events, messages, commands, or any other suitable data orsignal between the central server and each of the individual gamingdevices. The central server processor is operable to execute suchcommunicated events, messages, or commands in conjunction with theoperation of the central server. It should be appreciated that one, moreor each of the functions of the central controller, central server orremote host as disclosed herein may be performed by one or more gamingdevice processors. It should be further appreciated that one, more oreach of the functions of one or more gaming device processors asdisclosed herein may be performed by the central controller, centralserver or remote host.

In one embodiment, the game outcome provided to the player is determinedby a central server or controller and provided to the player at thegaming device. In this embodiment, each of a plurality of such gamingdevices are in communication with the central server or controller. Upona player initiating game play at one of the gaming devices, theinitiated gaming device communicates a game outcome request to thecentral server or controller.

In one embodiment, the central server or controller receives the gameoutcome request and randomly generates a game outcome for the chancebased game based on probability data. In another embodiment, the centralserver or controller randomly generates a game outcome for the secondarygame based on probability data. In another embodiment, the centralserver or controller randomly generates a game outcome for both thechance based game and the secondary game based on probability data. Inthis embodiment, the central server or controller is capable of storingand utilizing program code or other data similar to the processor andmemory device of the gaming device.

In an alternative embodiment, the central server or controller maintainsone or more predetermined pools or sets of predetermined game outcomes.In this embodiment, the central server or controller receives the gameoutcome request and independently selects a predetermined game outcomefrom a set or pool of game outcomes. The central server or controllerflags or marks the selected game outcome as used. Once a game outcome isflagged as used, it is prevented from further selection from the set orpool and cannot be selected by the central controller or server uponanother wager. The provided game outcome can include a chance based gameoutcome, a secondary game outcome, chance based and secondary gameoutcomes, or a series of game outcomes such as free games.

The central server or controller communicates the generated or selectedgame outcome to the initiated gaming device. The gaming device receivesthe generated or selected game outcome and provides the game outcome tothe player. In an alternative embodiment, how the generated or selectedgame outcome is to be presented or displayed to the player, such as areel symbol combination of a slot machine or a hand of cards dealt in acard game, is also determined by the central server or controller andcommunicated to the initiated gaming device to be presented or displayedto the player. Central production or control can assist a gamingestablishment or other entity in maintaining appropriate records,controlling gaming, reducing and preventing cheating or electronic orother errors, reducing or eliminating win-loss volatility, and the like.

In another embodiment, one or more of the gaming devices are incommunication with a central server or controller for monitoringpurposes only. That is, each individual gaming device randomly generatesthe game outcomes to be provided to the player and the central server orcontroller monitors the activities and events occurring on the pluralityof gaming devices. In one embodiment, the gaming network includes areal-time or on-line accounting and gaming information system operablycoupled to the central server or controller. The accounting and gaminginformation system of this embodiment includes a player database forstoring player profiles, a player tracking module for tracking playersand a credit system for providing automated casino transactions.

In one embodiment, the gaming device disclosed herein is associated withor otherwise integrated with one or more player tracking systems. Playertracking systems enable gaming establishments to recognize the value ofcustomer loyalty through identifying frequent customers and rewardingthem for their patronage. In one embodiment, the gaming device and/orplayer tracking system tracks any player's gaming activity at the gamingdevice. In one such embodiment, the gaming device includes at least onecard reader 38 in communication with the processor. In this embodiment,a player is issued a player identification card which has an encodedplayer identification number that uniquely identifies the player. When aplayer inserts their playing tracking card into the card reader to begina gaming session, the card reader reads the player identification numberoff the player tracking card to identify the player. The gaming deviceand/or associated player tracking system timely tracks any suitableinformation or data relating to the identified player's gaming session.Directly or via the central controller, the gaming device processorcommunicates such information to the player tracking system. The gamingdevice and/or associated player tracking system also timely tracks whena player removes their player tracking card when concluding play forthat gaming session. In another embodiment, rather than requiring aplayer to insert a player tracking card, the gaming device utilizes oneor more portable devices carried by a player, such as a cell phone, aradio frequency identification tag or any other suitable wireless deviceto track when a player begins and ends a gaming session. In anotherembodiment, the gaming device utilizes any suitable biometric technologyor ticket technology to track when a player begins and ends a gamingsession.

During one or more gaming sessions, the gaming device and/or playertracking system tracks any suitable information or data, such as anyamounts wagered, average wager amounts, and/or the time at which thesewagers are placed. In different embodiments, for one or more players,the player tracking system includes the player's account number, theplayer's card number, the player's first name, the player's surname, theplayer's preferred name, the player's player tracking ranking, anypromotion status associated with the player's player tracking card, theplayer's address, the player's birthday, the player's anniversary, theplayer's recent gaming sessions, or any other suitable data. In oneembodiment, such tracked information and/or any suitable featureassociated with the player tracking system is displayed on a playertracking display 40. In another embodiment, such tracked informationand/or any suitable feature associated with the player tracking systemis displayed via one or more service windows (not shown) which aredisplayed on the central display device and/or the upper display device.

In one embodiment, a plurality of the gaming devices are capable ofbeing connected together through a data network. In one embodiment, thedata network is a local area network (LAN), in which one or more of thegaming devices are substantially proximate to each other and an on-sitecentral server or controller as in, for example, a gaming establishmentor a portion of a gaming establishment. In another embodiment, the datanetwork is a wide area network (WAN) in which one or more of the gamingdevices are in communication with at least one off-site central serveror controller. In this embodiment, the plurality of gaming devices maybe located in a different part of the gaming establishment or within adifferent gaming establishment than the off-site central server orcontroller. Thus, the WAN may include an off-site central server orcontroller and an off-site gaming device located within gamingestablishments in the same geographic area, such as a city or state. TheWAN gaming system may be substantially identical to the LAN gamingsystem described above, although the number of gaming devices in eachsystem may vary relative to one another.

In another embodiment, the data network is an internet or intranet. Inthis embodiment, the operation of the gaming device can be viewed at thegaming device with at least one internet browser. In this embodiment,operation of the gaming device and accumulation of credits may beaccomplished with only a connection to the central server or controller(the internet/intranet server) through a conventional phone or otherdata transmission line, digital subscriber line (DSL), T-1 line, coaxialcable, fiber optic cable, or other suitable connection. In thisembodiment, players may access an internet game page from any locationwhere an internet connection and computer or other internet facilitatoris available. The expansion in the number of computers and number andspeed of internet connections in recent years increases opportunitiesfor players to play from an ever-increasing number of remote sites. Itshould be appreciated that the enhanced bandwidth of digital wirelesscommunications may render such technology suitable for some or allcommunications, particularly if such communications are encrypted.Higher data transmission speeds may be useful for enhancing thesophistication and response of the display and interaction with theplayer.

As mentioned above, in one embodiment, the present disclosure may beemployed in a server-based gaming system. In one such embodiment, asdescribed above, one or more gaming devices are in communication with acentral server or controller. The central server or controller may beany suitable server or computing device which includes at least oneprocessor and a memory or storage device. In alternative embodiments,the central server is a progressive controller or another gaming machinein the gaming system. In one embodiment, the memory device of thecentral server stores different game programs and instructions,executable by a gaming device processor, to control the gaming device.Each executable game program represents a different game or type of gamewhich may be played on one or more of the gaming devices in the gamingsystem. Such different games may include the same or substantially thesame game play with different pay tables. In different embodiments, theexecutable game program is for a chance based game, a secondary game orboth. In another embodiment, the game program may be executable as asecondary game to be played simultaneous with the play of a chance basedgame (which may be downloaded to or fixed on the gaming device) or viceversa.

In this embodiment, each gaming device at least includes one or moredisplay devices and/or one or more input devices for interaction with aplayer. A local processor, such as the above-described gaming deviceprocessor or a processor of a local server, is operable with the displaydevice(s) and/or the input device(s) of one or more of the gamingdevices.

In operation, the central controller is operable to communicate one ormore of the stored game programs to at least one local processor. Indifferent embodiments, the stored game programs are communicated ordelivered by embedding the communicated game program in a device or acomponent (e.g., a microchip to be inserted in a gaming device), writingthe game program on a disc or other media, or downloading or streamingthe game program over a dedicated data network, internet, or a telephoneline. After the stored game programs are communicated from the centralserver, the local processor executes the communicated program tofacilitate play of the communicated program by a player through thedisplay device(s) and/or input device(s) of the gaming device. That is,when a game program is communicated to a local processor, the localprocessor changes the game or type of game played at the gaming device.

In another embodiment, a plurality of gaming devices at one or moregaming sites may be networked to the central server in a progressiveconfiguration, as known in the art, wherein a portion of each wager toinitiate a base or chance based game may be allocated to one or moreprogressive awards. In one embodiment, a progressive gaming system hostsite computer is coupled to a plurality of the central servers at avariety of mutually remote gaming sites for providing a multi-sitelinked progressive automated gaming system. In one embodiment, aprogressive gaming system host site computer may serve gaming devicesdistributed throughout a number of properties at different geographicallocations including, for example, different locations within a city ordifferent cities within a state.

In one embodiment, the progressive gaming system host site computer ismaintained for the overall operation and control of the progressivegaming system. In this embodiment, a progressive gaming system host sitecomputer oversees the entire progressive gaming system and is the masterfor computing all progressive jackpots. All participating gaming sitesreport to, and receive information from, the progressive gaming systemhost site computer. Each central server computer is responsible for alldata communication between the gaming device hardware and software andthe progressive gaming system host site computer. In one embodiment, anindividual gaming machine may trigger a progressive award win. Inanother embodiment, a central server (or the progressive gaming systemhost site computer) determines when a progressive award win istriggered. In another embodiment, an individual gaming machine and acentral controller (or progressive gaming system host site computer)work in conjunction with each other to determine when a progressive winis triggered, for example through an individual gaming machine meeting apredetermined requirement established by the central controller.

In one embodiment, a progressive award win is triggered based on one ormore game play events, such as a symbol-driven trigger. In otherembodiments, the progressive award triggering event or qualifyingcondition may be achieved by exceeding a certain amount of game play(such as number of games, number of credits, or amount of time), orreaching a specified number of points earned during game play. Inanother embodiment, a gaming device is randomly or apparently randomlyselected to provide a player of that gaming device one or moreprogressive awards. In one such embodiment, the gaming device does notprovide any apparent reasons to the player for winning a progressiveaward, wherein winning the progressive award is not triggered by anevent in or based specifically on any of the plays of any chance basedgame. That is, a player is provided a progressive award without anyexplanation or alternatively with simple explanations. In anotherembodiment, a player is provided a progressive award at least partiallybased on a game triggered or symbol triggered event, such as at leastpartially based on the play of a chance based game.

In one embodiment, one or more of the progressive awards are each fundedvia a side bet or side wager. In this embodiment, a player must place orwager a side bet to be eligible to win the progressive award associatedwith the side bet. In one embodiment, the player must place the maximumbet and the side bet to be eligible to win one of the progressiveawards. In another embodiment, if the player places or wagers therequired side bet, the player may wager at any credit amount during thechance based game (i.e., the player need not place the maximum bet andthe side bet to be eligible to win one of the progressive awards). Inone such embodiment, the greater the player's wager (in addition to theplaced side bet), the greater the odds or probability that the playerwill win one of the progressive awards. It should be appreciated thatone or more of the progressive awards may each be funded, at least inpart, based on the wagers placed on the chance based games of the gamingmachines in the gaming system, via a gaming establishment or via anysuitable manner.

In another embodiment, one or more of the progressive awards arepartially funded via a side-bet or side-wager which the player may make(and which may be tracked via a side-bet meter). In one embodiment, oneor more of the progressive awards are funded with only side-bets orside-wagers placed. In another embodiment, one or more of theprogressive awards are funded based on player's wagers as describedabove as well as any side-bets or side-wagers placed.

In one alternative embodiment, a minimum wager level is required for agaming device to qualify to be selected to obtain one of the progressiveawards. In one embodiment, this minimum wager level is the maximum wagerlevel for the chance based game in the gaming machine. In anotherembodiment, no minimum wager level is required for a gaming machine toqualify to be selected to obtain one of the progressive awards.

In another embodiment, a plurality of players at a plurality of linkedgaming devices in a gaming system participate in a group gamingenvironment. In one embodiment, a plurality of players at a plurality oflinked gaming devices work in conjunction with one another, such as byplaying together as a team or group, to win one or more awards. In onesuch embodiment, any award won by the group is shared, either equally orbased on any suitable criteria, amongst the different players of thegroup. In another embodiment, a plurality of players at a plurality oflinked gaming devices compete against one another for one or moreawards. In one such embodiment, a plurality of players at a plurality oflinked gaming devices participate in a gaming tournament for one or moreawards. In another embodiment, a plurality of players at a plurality oflinked gaming devices play for one or more awards wherein an outcomegenerated by one gaming device affects the outcomes generated by one ormore linked gaming devices.

One embodiment of the present invention provides a gaming machine orgaming device having a first interactive game requiring one or moreplayer inputs. The player inputs result in one or more outcomes. Theoutcomes do not result in a monetary or other valuable award provided tothe player. Rather, a second wagering game is always provided to theplayer where the player can obtain or has a chance to obtain a monetaryor other valuable award. In one embodiment, the gaming device selects ordetermines one of a plurality of different functions such as paytablesto employ in the wagering game based on the outcome of the firstinteractive game. The gaming device provides the wagering game to theplayer and randomly determines an outcome for the wagering game. Theoutcome in the wagering game can result in a monetary or other valuableaward provided to the player based on the selected paytable and theplayer's wager on the wagering game. The outcome in the wagering gamecan also or alternatively result in a triggering or an activation of oneor more bonus games which provide a monetary or other valuable award tothe player. Thus, the present invention contemplates that after a playermakes a wager on a wagering game, a first interactive game is played bythe player to determine a function of the wagering game where the playermay win a monetary award.

In another embodiment, the gaming device includes a plurality ofdifferent wagering games. The gaming device determines which of thedifferent wagering games to provide to the player based, at least inpart, on the player's outcome of the interactive game. The differentwagering games may be of the same type such as different slot games orvariations of the same slot game, or maybe of different types such asslot, poker, blackjack, keno, checkers, or bunco. The wagering games mayall employ the same paytable or may employ different paytables.Alternatively, one of the wagering games, a plurality of the wageringgames, or each wagering game may have multiple different paytables. Inone embodiment, the employed paytable may also be based on the outcomein the interactive game.

It should thus be understood that any suitable function of the wageringgame can be employed based on the outcomes of the interactive game inaccordance with the present invention. For instance, the number ofwagering games provided to the player may be based on one or more of theoutcomes in the first interactive game. In other embodiments, the gamingdevice includes one or more of the modifiers such as a multiplieremployed in the wagering game or to determine an award in the wageringgame. The modifiers may be based on the one or more of the outcomes inthe first interactive game. In further embodiments, the number ofpaylines employed, wager per payline, the number or function of wildsymbols or other suitable symbols in the wagering game may be based onone or more of the outcomes in the first interactive game. In anotherembodiment, the outcome of the first interactive game may make theplayer eligible to receive a jackpot or a progressive award.

The first interactive game can be any suitable interactive skill game,interactive partial skill game or interactive pseudo skill game. In oneembodiment, the skill game may include any suitable type and anysuitable number of skill events, such as hand-eye coordination events ordexterity events. For example, the interactive game is any suitable typeof racing or competitive game, a sports-based game or a shooting game.In another embodiment, the first interactive game involves mental skill,knowledge, logical deduction or strategy. For example, the firstinteractive game may be a trivia game or a memory game. The firstinteractive game is a non-wagering game. That is, a wager is not appliedto the first interactive game. The gaming device does not provide anaward for the outcome obtained in the first interactive game based onthe wager. That is, the player does not have any chance of obtaining anytype of award or prize in the interactive game. The first game mayalternatively be referred to herein as the interactive game, theinteractive skill game, the skill game, the preliminary game, theintroductory game, the opening game, the arcade game, the non-wageringgame, the non-awarding game, or the functional game.

In one alternative embodiment, the gaming device may additionallyprovide an achieved token or bonus award to the player based on theoutcome in the first interactive game. In one such embodiment, in thefirst interactive game, the gaming machine provides such award to adesignated place finisher, such as the first place finisher. In anothersuch embodiment, the gaming device provides such award to the player ifthe player achieves a designated level or threshold in the firstinteractive game such as obtaining the highest score.

In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the firstinteractive game is a conventional arcade game. In this embodiment, thegaming device of the present invention includes an arcade game which isphysically similar in appearance and function to a conventional arcadegame or arcade machine. The gaming device includes additional inputs ofa conventional slot or other wagering gaming machine such as player betor wager inputs, player tracking card input(s), monetary acceptors, andcash out buttons. The gaming device includes additional outputs such asticket or money dispensers and one or more additional displays for thewagering game or any bonus game associated with the wagering game.Alternatively, the display that displays the arcade-type game may beused to display the wagering game or one or more bonus games associatedwith the wagering game. It should be appreciated that these gamingmachines which include arcade-type interactive games and slot-typewagering games may be placed in any suitable location in a casino or agaming establishment. One suitable location is adjacent to a sports bookarea in a casino. Other locations can be in separate gaming roomsdedicated to the gaming machines of the present invention.

In a first embodiment, a player plays the first interactive game againstthe gaming machine or device to achieve an outcome in the interactivegame. In a second embodiment, the gaming machine is part of a gamingsystem which includes one or more other linked gaming machines. In thesecond embodiment, in the first interactive game, a player at one gamingmachine competes against one or more players at one or more of the otherlinked gaming machines in the interactive game to achieve an outcome inthe interactive game. In these embodiments, the individual outcome foreach player in the interactive game can be based on a place or a rankobtained by that player, such as a first place finish or second placefinish in the interactive game such as a racing game. In otherembodiments, the individual outcome for each player in the interactivegame is based on an accumulated number of points obtained by thatplayer, such as a number of targets hit by that player in a shootinggame or a number of questions answered correctly by the player in atrivia game. It should thus be appreciated that in the multi-gamingmachine embodiment, each participating player will receive an outcomebased on that player's performance in the first interactive game whichcan be but does not have to be in all embodiments relative to the otherplayers' performance in the first interactive game. For example, onlyone player can obtain first place and one player can obtain last placein one embodiment, but in another embodiment, more than one player canobtain the same outcome such as shooting all of the targets.

It should thus be appreciated in the single gaming machine embodiment,the interactive game outcome is determined based on how the playerperforms in a skill event in the interactive game wherein the player isplaying by himself or herself or playing against the gaming device. Inthe multi-gaming machine embodiment, the interactive game outcome isdetermined based on how the player performs in a skill event in theinteractive game wherein the player is playing by himself or herself orplaying against one or more gaming machines controlled competitors(i.e., a multiple player gaming system where the player is the onlycompetitor) or wherein the player is playing against one or more playersor competitors at other linked gaming machines.

In one example embodiment, the interactive game is a racing game inwhich a player can achieve first place, second place or third place orachieves a rank. In the various embodiments, the player obtains theplace or rank by just racing alone in the interactive game to achieve atime, racing against one or more gaming machine controlled competitors,or racing against one or more competitors or players at one or moreother linked gaming machines. It should thus be appreciated the outcomeof the first player interactive game may be determined in any suchsuitable manner.

In one embodiment, the gaming device includes a wagering game whichincludes a plurality of different potential functions orcharacteristics. The gaming device determines which of the differentfunctions or characteristics will be employed in the wagering gameplayed by a player based on the outcome achieved by that player in theinteractive game. In one embodiment, the wagering game is a suitableknown chance based wagering game which is operable to provide one ormore awards to a player, such as, but not limited to, slot, poker, keno,bingo, craps, blackjack, bunco or any combination thereof. The wageringgame may be any suitable wagering-type game developed in the futurewhich is operable upon a wager by a player and which is operable toprovide an award to the player. The function or characteristicdetermined by the interactive game outcome may be any suitable functionor characteristic. For example, the gaming device uses the interactivegame outcome to determine: (i) the paytable employed in the wageringgame; (ii) the volatility of the wagering game; (iii) the averageexpected payback percentage in the wagering game; (iv) the eligibilityfor an award, bonus award or a bonus game in the wagering game; (v) thetriggering event for one or more bonus games in the wagering game; (vi)the eligibility for a progressive award in the wagering games; (vii) thewager of the wagering game; (viii) the modifier in the wagering game(ix) the type or kind of the wagering game; or (xi) any combination ofthese.

In another embodiment, as mentioned above, the gaming device or gamingsystem includes a plurality of wagering games. The gaming devicedetermines which wagering game to provide to the player based on theinteractive game outcome. In the single player embodiment, the gamingdevice provides the player the wagering game associated with the outcomeachieved by that player in the interactive game. In the multi-playerembodiment, the gaming system provides each player of the interactivegame a wagering game associated with the individual outcome achieved bythat player in that player's play of the interactive game. It should beappreciated that each of the players may be provided different wageringgames. The gaming device provides a player an outcome in the wageringgame, which can result in a monetary award. In one alternativeembodiment, a player may select which wagering game to play from aplurality of wagering games. In this alternative embodiment, theplayer's outcome in the interactive game determines which wagering gamesare available for selection. For instance, the first place winner in theinteractive game may have first selection from a plurality of differentwagering games. The other players may pick from the remaining wageringgames. In another alternative of this embodiment, the interactive gameoutcome determines the number of choices the player has to select fromfor the wagering game. For example, the first place winner is providedten games to select from for the wagering game. The second place winnerhas eight choices to select from for the wagering game.

The present invention contemplates in one embodiment that each differentwagering game will have an equal or substantially equal average expectedpayback percentage even though the wagering games are different, havedifferent paytables, different volatilities, different size payouts orawards, different numbers of winning combinations, and/or different hitfrequencies. This means that the skill event of the interactive gamedoes not determine the outcome in the wagering game because eachdifferent wagering game has an equal or substantially equal averageexpected payback percentage. That is, regardless of the outcome in theskill game, each player has the same overall chances of winning. Thepresent invention may thus provide a perceived advantage to the playerswho do better in the first interactive game but does not provide anactual advantage on average. In the embodiment, where the volatilitiesare different, the player who does best in the first interactive gamehas a chance to receive a higher award.

The present invention may typically take a player longer to play than agame of a conventional slot or other type wagering gaming machinebecause the player must first play the first interactive game and thenplay the wagering game. In certain multiple linked gaming deviceembodiments, players may also wait a limited time, such as a couple ofseconds, for other players to join in the next play of the interactivegame, as described in more detail below. Casinos or gamingestablishments will want to maintain profitability even though thegaming device(s) of the present invention may take longer to play. Itshould be appreciated that the gaming device and gaming system of thepresent invention may be funded in multiple ways which account for thesepossible extended play time periods. In one embodiment, the gamingdevice requires a higher average minimum bet on the wagering game than asimilar conventional gaming machine. In one embodiment, the amount ofthe money or monetary units required to activate the wagering game ofthe gaming machine is a set amount, such as $5.00. In anotherembodiment, the amount of money or monetary units required to activatethe wagering game of the gaming machine is a variable amount or in arange, such as $1.00 to $25.00. In one embodiment, when the amount ofmoney required to activate the wagering game of the gaming machine is avariable amount, the amounts of the wager are proportional to the sizeof the potential payouts or awards.

In another embodiment, the amount wagered also determines an aspect,function or characteristic of either or both of the first interactivegame or the second wagering game. For instance, the amount of the wagermay determine the length of the first interactive game. A larger wagercan result in a longer game play of the first interactive game. Theamount wagered can alternatively or additionally determine a function ofthe wagering game such as a respective portion of the paytable as inconventional gaming machines, the ability to reach a bonus round in thewagering game, or any other suitable feature or function in the wageringgame.

It should also be appreciated that in one embodiment, the wagering gamefor each of the players of the multi-player embodiment may be the samegame and have the same game result for each player but that each playermay receive a different award based on the same game result. In oneembodiment, the interactive game determines a different paytable for thewagering game for different players. For example, the players each playthe interactive game and achieve a game result or place in theinteractive game which determines their respective paytables. Thewagering game, such as a slot game, is the same game for each player.The slot game is initiated on either individual display devices or onone large or common display device. The gaming system generates the samesymbols in the slot game for each player. However, the paytables of theplayers may have different winning combinations or different awards forthe same combinations or both. The players have the opportunity ofachieving different awards from the same wagering game result.

In one embodiment, the gaming device enables a player to enter a wagerfor the wagering game in a conventional wagering format. When the playercompletes the wager for the wagering game, the gaming device thenswitches to or begins the first interactive game either automatically orupon an input from the player. The gaming device enables the player toplay the interactive game and provides and displays the outcome of theinteractive game to the player. The gaming device determines thewagering game (including the applicable functions of the wagering game)to provide the player based on the interactive game outcome and displaysthe wagering game and then the wagering game outcome. If the wageringgame outcome is a winning outcome, the gaming device provides an awardassociated with that winning outcome to the player based in part on thewager and on the paytable of the wagering game.

It should thus be appreciated that the present invention provides agaming device including an interactive game and a wagering game. In oneembodiment, the wagering game is always provided to the playerregardless of the outcome of the interactive game. The interactive gamedoes not provide an award to the player and the wagering game can resultin an award provided to the player. Thus, the player always has a chanceof obtaining an award in the wagering game regardless of the interactivegame outcome. In one embodiment, the wagering game has the same orsubstantially the same expected average payout or return to the playerregardless of the interactive game outcome. This allows theinexperienced, average and experienced players to have the same averagepayout, thus no player is disadvantaged or advantaged by the skill eventof the present invention.

One advantage that one embodiment of the present invention provides isthat the player may obtain a paytable that has a higher award than otherpaytables for the wagering game if the player achieves a designatedoutcome in the interactive game such as first place. The higher awardcan be a conventional award with a higher value than any of the otherawards. The higher award can be a jackpot award, a progressive award, aphysical prize such as a new automobile, or any other suitable award.The present invention thus rewards the players which achieve the betteroutcomes in the first interactive games by providing the player a chanceor a better chance to receive a higher or a better award in the wageringgame while maintaining that each player will have the same orsubstantially the same return to player or return from the wagering gameand thus from the gaming machine of the present invention.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the gaming systemincludes multiple linked gaming machines and only a designated number ofplayers, such as one player, the top two players, or the top threeplayers get to play the wagering game. The other players achieve losingoutcomes and do not get to play the wagering game. In one embodiment,each player has a probability of being provided the wagering game basedon how that player did in the interactive game or based on the outcomein the interactive game. The players who did better in the interactivegame have greater chances of playing the wagering game. For example, thefirst place winner may have a 40% chance of being awarded or playing thewagering game, the second place winner may have a 30% change of beingawarded or playing the wagering game, the third place winner may have a20% chance of being awarded or playing the wagering game, and the fourthplace winner may have a 10% chance of being awarded or playing thewagering game. This award system can be configured in any suitablemanner. In one such embodiment, consolation awards could be provided toplayers who are not awarded or do not play the wagering game. This awardcan be based on the player's wagers made on the wagering games. Therandom determination of this embodiment can be displayed to the player.For instance, a number from 1 to 10 is drawn. The first place player isassigned the numbers 1 to 4, the second place player is assigned thenumbers 5 to 7, the third place player is assigned the numbers 8 to 9and the fourth place player is assigned the number 10. It should beappreciated that any other suitable methods for determining which playeror players play the wagering game may be used by the present invention.

In another embodiment, the gaming system includes a plurality of gamingmachines. The gaming machines or gaming system include a firstinteractive game and a second wagering game. To participate in thegames, the players are required to wager a certain amount or level. Inone embodiment, portions of the wager are allocated to or fund differentpools or paytables. A certain amount or percentage of the wager isallocated for an interactive game pool, a second amount of the wager isallocated for a paytable including the house hold.

More specifically, in one embodiment, a player is required to wager acertain amount, such as $2 to initiate one of the gaming machines ofthis gaming system. The gaming machine or gaming system allocates acertain amount or certain percentage of the wager for different pools orpaytables. In one embodiment, the gaming system allocates 10% of thewager for the interactive game pool, 80% of the wager for the payouts ofthe paytable and 10% of the wager for the house hold. That is, onaverage, $0.20 of the wager funds an interactive game pool for thewinner of the interactive game, $1.60 of the wager funds the winningoutcomes of payouts of the paytable for the wagering game; and $0.20 ofthe wager funds the house hold, casino or company running the game. Inone example of this embodiment, 100% of the interactive game pool isawarded to the winner of that game. This prize pool may be an actualpool or an average expected value pool. Thus, in one embodiment thegreater the wager and/or the more players there are per game, the higherthe interactive game pool is and in this embodiment, the larger theprize is for the winner.

In one embodiment, a gaming system includes a plurality of gamingmachines and a plurality of different interactive game outcomes for aninteractive game. The interactive game outcomes include an interactivegame designated outcome. A controller is operable with the gamingmachines to enable one or more players to each place a wager and fund aninteractive game pool with a portion of the placed wagers and enable theplayers who placed wagers to play an interactive game. The controller isoperable with the gaming machines to determine and display interactivegame outcomes for the play of the interactive game, wherein theinteractive game designated outcome is obtained by one of the playerswho placed the wagers. The controller is operable with the gamingmachines to provide the player who obtained the interactive gamedesignated outcome an interactive game award based on the interactivegame pool. For each player who places the wager, the controller isoperable with the gaming machines to display at least one wagering gameto the player, determine a wagering game outcome for said wagering game,and provide any awards to the player associated with any winningoutcomes obtained in said wagering game.

In another embodiment, more than one player receives an award for theinteractive game. In one example of this embodiment, if the interactivegame pool reaches a threshold amount, more than one player receives anaward or prize. For example, if the interactive game pool reaches $75,then the players that finish in first, second and third place eachreceive an award. In another embodiment, if there are a certain numberof players playing the interactive game, more than one player receivesan award for the interactive game. For example, if there are more than20 players playing the interactive game, four of the players receive anaward for the interactive game. In another embodiment, if both a certainnumber of players are playing the interactive game and the interactivegame pool reaches a certain level or threshold, the gaming system awardsmore than one player an award. In another embodiment, the gaming systemawards one of the players of the interactive game one or more awards. Inanother embodiment, the gaming system awards more than one player anaward. It should be appreciated that the gaming system may award one ormore awards to one or more players of the interactive game in anysuitable manner.

In another embodiment, the gaming machine or system requires the playerto place a side wager for the interactive game pool. In one embodiment,the gaming system or gaming machine enables the player to place onewager for the interactive game and a separate wager for the wageringgame or place a wager and designate a certain amount for the interactivegame and a certain amount of the wager for the wagering game. In oneembodiment, to play the games, the player is only required to wager onthe wagering game. That is, the side wager for the interactive game isoptional. In any of these wager allocation embodiments, the gamingsystem or device may require a minimum bet to qualify to win some or allof the interactive game pool.

In another embodiment, the gaming system or gaming machine provides anaward to one or more players of the interactive game based on designatedtime intervals. In one embodiment, each player of a gaming machine or aplayer of a data network has a player tracking card or another suitabletype a player identifier. If that player has the highest outcome orpoint accumulation for the interactive game in a designated period oftime, the gaming system or device provides that player of the game anaward for being the winner for that time interval. For example, everyhalf-hour the gaming system determines which player won the most pointsfor that half-hour and provides the winner a notification on the playercard to pick up the award or provides the data network player a messagethat they won the award and awards the player the funds electronically.

In another embodiment, the gaming system includes a plurality of gamerounds and each game round includes an interactive game and a wageringgame. In one example of this embodiment, for each round the gamingsystem provides the interactive game to a player and the wagering gameto the player. The gaming machine then provides a next round of thewagering game. In one embodiment, a wager is required for each round ofthe game. In one embodiment, the player opts-in to the next round of thegame by placing an input to continue the game. The input may be to placea wager or insert more money or tokens for the next round. It should beappreciated that this game may also be provided in an opt-out format.That is, the gaming machine continues to the next round unless theplayer makes an input to quit the game. In one embodiment, in the lastround the wagering game has a higher paytable or an increased award thanthe other rounds. Including an additional feature in the last wageringround of the game encourages players to participate in all rounds of thegame.

It is therefore an advantage of the present invention to provide awagering gaming device that employs skill.

Another advantage of the present invention is to provide a wageringgaming device that combines a first interactive game and a secondwagering game where the player's skill in the interactive game does notchange the expected average payout in the wagering game.

Another advantage of the present invention is to provide a wageringgaming device that displays a first interactive game and a secondwagering game on the same or different displays.

Another advantage of the present invention is to provide a first playerinteractive game which results in an outcome that determines thewagering game.

Another advantage of the present invention is to provide a first playerinteractive game which results in an outcome that determines thepaytable of a wagering game.

Another advantage of the present invention is to provide a first playerinteractive game which results in an outcome that determines thevolatility of a wagering game.

It should be understood that various changes and modifications to thepresently preferred embodiments described herein will be apparent tothose skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications can be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention andwithout diminishing its intended advantages. It is therefore intendedthat such changes and modifications be covered by the appended claims.

The invention is claimed as follows:
 1. A gaming system comprising: ahousing; a plurality of input devices supported by the housing andincluding a payment device; at least one display device supported by thehousing; at least one processor; and at least one memory device storinga plurality of instructions that, when executed by the at least oneprocessor, cause the at least one processor to: establish a creditbalance for a player based at least in part on a monetary valueassociated with a physical item after the payment device reads thephysical item; cause the at least one display device to display a gamingenvironment having a plurality of first activatable components, eachfirst activatable component associated with a quantity of points; afterreceiving an input, introduce a game object into the displayed gamingenvironment; after introducing the game object into the displayed gamingenvironment, responsive to the game object activating a firstactivatable component, accumulate the quantity of points associated withsaid first activatable component for the player; after a designatedevent occurs: randomly determine, based on an average expected paybackpercentage, an outcome of a wager, wherein the average expected paybackpercentage is a first average expected payback percentage responsive tothe designated event occurring before the player accumulated adesignated quantity of points, the average expected payback percentageis greater than the first average expected payback percentage responsiveto the designated event occurring after the player accumulated thedesignated quantity of points, and the credit balance is decreasable bythe wager; determine any award associated with the randomly determinedoutcome; and cause the at least one display device to display anydetermined award, the credit balance being increasable based on anydetermined award associated with the randomly determined outcome; andinitiate a payout associated with the credit balance after an actuationof a cashout button is received.
 2. The gaming system of claim 1,wherein the payment device includes a card reader and the physical itemincludes a card readable by the card reader.
 3. The gaming system ofclaim 2, wherein the card includes a programmed microchip or a codedmagnetic strip.
 4. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the paymentdevice includes an acceptor and the physical item is a ticket having themonetary value and readable by the acceptor or currency readable by theacceptor.
 5. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the plurality ofinstructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the atleast one processor to cause the at least one display device to displaya multiplier when the player accumulates the designated quantity ofpoints, the multiplier usable to increase at least one award.
 6. Thegaming system of claim 1, wherein the displayed gaming environmentincludes one or more second activatable components.
 7. The gaming systemof claim 6, wherein the plurality of instructions, when executed by theat least one processor, cause the at least one processor to, after thegame object activates a second activatable component a designatedquantity of times, unlock a feature associated with said secondactivatable component.
 8. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein thegaming environment is a pinball environment and the plurality of firstactivatable components includes at least one flipper and at least onebumper.
 9. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the designated eventoccurs when the game object activates a designated activatablecomponent.
 10. A method of operating a gaming system, said methodcomprising: establishing, by at least one processor, a credit balancefor a player based at least in part on a monetary value associated witha physical item after a payment device supported by a housing of thegaming system reads the physical item; displaying, by at least onedisplay device, a gaming environment having a plurality of firstactivatable components, each first activatable component associated witha quantity of points; after receiving an input, introducing, by the atleast one processor, a game object into the displayed gamingenvironment; after introducing the game object into the displayed gamingenvironment, responsive to the game object activating a firstactivatable component, accumulating, by the at least one processor, thequantity of points associated with said first activatable component forthe player; after a designated event occurs: randomly determining, bythe at least one processor and based on an average expected paybackpercentage, an outcome of a wager, wherein the average expected paybackpercentage is a first average expected payback percentage responsive tothe designated event occurring before the player accumulated adesignated quantity of points, the average expected payback percentageis greater than the first average expected payback percentage responsiveto the designated event occurring after the player accumulated thedesignated quantity of points, and the credit balance is decreasable bythe wager; determining, by the at least one processor, any awardassociated with the randomly determined outcome; and displaying, by theat least one display device, any determined award, the credit balancebeing increasable based on any determined award associated with therandomly determined outcome; and initiating, by the at least oneprocessor, a payout associated with the credit balance after anactuation of a cashout button is received.
 11. The method of claim 10,wherein the payment device includes a card reader and the physical itemincludes a card readable by the card reader.
 12. The method of claim 11,wherein the card includes a programmed microchip or a coded magneticstrip.
 13. The method of claim 10, wherein the payment device includesan acceptor and the physical item is a ticket having the monetary valueand readable by the acceptor or currency readable by the acceptor. 14.The method of claim 10, further comprising displaying, by the at leastone display device, a multiplier when the player accumulates thedesignated quantity of points, the multiplier usable to increase atleast one award.
 15. The method of claim 10, wherein the displayedgaming environment includes one or more second activatable components.16. The method of claim 15, further comprising, after the game objectactivates a second activatable component a designated quantity of times,unlocking, by the at least one processor, a feature associated with saidsecond activatable component.
 17. The method of claim 10, wherein thegaming environment is a pinball environment and the plurality of firstactivatable components includes at least one flipper and at least onebumper.
 18. The method of claim 10, wherein the designated event occurswhen the game object activates a designated activatable component. 19.The method of claim 10, which is provided through a data network. 20.The method of claim 19, wherein the data network is an internet.